On Feb. 6, parties in an Indiana lawsuit seeking accommodations for voters with visual disabilities settled, allowing these voters to use a computer software program to complete their ballot and submit it via email.
Both of the candidates running in the November 8, 2022, general election for Texas 208th District Court in Harris County — Beverly Armstrong (D) and Heather Hudson (R) — completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office.
According to the Texas Courts website, “district courts have original jurisdiction in felony criminal cases, divorce cases, cases involving title to land, election contest cases, civil matters in which the amount of money or damages involved is $200 or more, and any matters in which jurisdiction is not placed in another trial court.”
Here are excerpts from candidates’ responses to the question: What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?
Armstrong:
“Will stem the release of habitual, violent offenders thru the lowering of bonds.”
“Will Get back to holding trials so that people are not sitting for years waiting for justice, for their day in court.”
“A Fair and unbiased demeanor will rule my courtroom. Each voice will be given a chance to be heard in a fair and equitable way with decisions made by following the law, in consideration of the community at large.”
Hudson:
“Crime in Houston has skyrocketed, and will continue to rise as long as repeat, violent criminal offenders are released on low bail.”
“Hudson will work diligently to reduce the staggering backlog of criminal cases in Harris County by holding trial and giving victims and defendants their day in court.”
“Hudson will follow the rule of law and will treat all litigants, jurors, witnesses, and lawyers with dignity and respect.”
Click on candidates’ profile pages below to read their full responses to this and other questions.
We ask all federal, state, and local candidates with profiles on Ballotpedia to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Ask the candidates in your area to fill out the survey.
Both of the candidates running in the November 8, 2022, general election for Tarrant County Criminal Court No. 7 — Marq Clayton (D) and Eric Starnes (R) — completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. These survey responses allow voters to hear directly from candidates about what motivates them to run for office.
The Tarrant County Criminal Courts are trial courts in Tarrant County, Texas.
Here are excerpts from candidates’ responses to the question: What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?
Clayton:
“Compassion – I am committed to treating every individual with dignity and respect no matter the reason they are in the courtroom.”
“Fairness – I am committed to ensuring that all individuals are aware of programs, resources, and opportunities that are available to them through the court.”
“Diversity – My background and professional experience are diverse. I’ve litigated cases as a prosecutor, defense attorney, and family law attorney.”
Starnes:
“Experienced- nearly 3 decades of criminal justice experience including 15 years as an attorney with criminal and civil experience.”
“Knowledgeable- studied and taught areas of law that deal with crimes, such as DWIs, that have a heavy impact on the case load in this court.”
“Dedication to neutrality- recognition the trial judge is to remain impartial between the parties, not legislate personal views from the bench, and uphold the laws of the United States and the State of Texas.”
Click on candidates’ profile pages below to read their full responses to this and other questions.
We ask all federal, state, and local candidates with profiles on Ballotpedia to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Ask the candidates in your area to fill out the survey.
The race for Office 67 is one we are watching closely. The Los Angeles Times‘ editorial board wrote, “For many years, the most successful judicial candidates were prosecutors, presumably because voters believed that they would … deal more harshly with criminal defendants,” but added that “[t]his year there are several deputy public defenders running, an interesting development that’s part of the broader movement for criminal justice reform.”
Barreto and Dibble both have prosecutorial experience, working as deputy district attorneys in Los Angeles County. Lashley-Haynes has experience as a deputy public defender in the county’s public defender office.
When completing the survey, every candidate is asked to provide the key messages they want to share with voters. Here are excerpts from those responses. You can read each candidate’s full survey responses by clicking on their names:
Fernanda Maria Barreto: “With almost 16 years of experience as a DDA handling complex felony cases including murder, rape, and domestic violence, I am capable and qualified to take on the responsibility of being a Superior Court Judge.”
Ryan Dibble: “I will seek to maintain public safety and integrity of the judicial system by properly and objectively exercising discretion within the confines of the law.”
Unlike partisan top-two primaries in California, in nonpartisan primaries, a candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote wins the primary outright. If no candidate crosses that threshold, the top two vote-getters will advance to a Nov. 8 runoff.
While the race is officially nonpartisan, meaning candidates will appear on the ballot without party labels, all three candidates have been endorsed by at least one organization affiliated with the Democratic Party.
There are 494 judges on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, making it the largest trial court in the country. Judges serve six-year terms. Offices on the court only appear on the ballot when an incumbent judge is challenged or, in the case of Office 67, no incumbent files for re-election. In 2022, contested races are scheduled for nine of the 167 offices up for election. Click here to learn more about judicial selection in California.
Judges on the Superior Court of Los Angeles County conduct all original trials in the county, except in cases where appellate level courts have original jurisdiction. According to the court’s website, “Cases range from simple traffic infractions to murders; landlord/tenant disputes to multi-million dollar lawsuits; guardianships to involuntary commitments.”
Veronica Rossman was nominated to the 10th Circuit on May 12 to replace Judge Carlos Lucero, who assumed senior status on Feb. 1. Rossman was rated as Qualified by a substantial majority and Well Qualified by a minorityby the American Bar Association. Rossman will join the court upon receiving her judicial commission and taking her judicial oath.
To date, 12 of Biden’s appointees have been confirmed. For historical comparison since 1981, the following list shows the date by which the past six presidents had 12 Article III judicial nominees confirmed by the Senate:
Currently, 10 Article III nominees are awaiting a confirmation vote from the U.S Senate, seven nominees are awaiting a Senate Judiciary Committee vote to advance their nominations to the full Senate, and 12 nominees are awaiting a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies in Article III courts from July 2 to Aug. 1. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.
HIGHLIGHTS
Vacancies: There have been two new judicial vacancies since the June 2021 report. There are 80 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions on courts covered in this report. Including the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. territorial courts, 84 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
Nominations: There were no new nominations since the June 2021 report.
Confirmations: There has been one new confirmation since the June 2021 report.
Two judges left active status, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies, since the previous vacancy count. As Article III judicial positions, vacancies must be filled by a nomination from the president. Nominations are subject to confirmation on the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.
The following chart tracks the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals from the inauguration of President Joe Biden (D) to the date indicated on the chart.
The following maps show the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals at the inauguration of President Joe Biden (D) and as of Aug. 1.
New nominations
President Joe Biden (D) has announced no new nominations since the June 2021 report.
New confirmations
As of Aug. 1, the Senate has confirmed eight of President Biden’s judicial nominees—five district court judges and three appeals court judges—since January 2021.
In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies in Article III courts from May 1 to June 1. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Vacancies: There have been six new judicial vacancies since the April 2021 report. There are 82 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions on courts covered in this report. Including the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. territorial courts, 85 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
• Nominations: There were six new nominations since the April 2021 report.
• Confirmations: There have been no new confirmations since the April 2021 report.
Six judges left active status, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies, since the previous vacancy count. As Article III judicial positions, vacancies must be filled by a nomination from the president. Nominations are subject to confirmation on the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.
• Judge Ursula Ungaro assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
• Judge Thomas Thrash assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
• Judge Evan Wallach assumed senior status on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
• Judge Anthony Trenga assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
• Judge Petrese Tucker assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
• Judge Denny Chin assumed senior status on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
U.S. Court of Appeals vacancies
The following chart tracks the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals from the inauguration of President Joe Biden (D) to the date indicated on the chart.
The following maps show the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals at the inauguration of President Joe Biden (D) and as of June 1.
New nominations
President Joe Biden (D) has announced six new nominations since the April 2021 report.
• Gustavo Gelpí, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit
• Eunice Lee, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
• Veronica Rossman, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
• Angel Kelley, to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
• Karen Williams, to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
• Lauren King, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
New confirmations
As of June 1, there have been no federal judicial confirmations during the Biden administration.
On March 8, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued an opinion in the case Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, which concerned nominal damages claims and whether they provide legal standing in federal cases. Nominal damages claims are when a judge finds in favor of one party in a lawsuit but concludes that no real harm was done and therefore awards a very small, or nominal, amount of monetary relief.
The case originated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and was argued before SCOTUS on January 12, 2021. So far, the court has accepted four cases from the 11th Circuit and has decided one during this term.
In an 8-1 ruling, the court held that awarding nominal damages does provide legal standing in a case, meaning that the plaintiff has the legal right to sue. Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the majority opinion of the court, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh filed a concurring opinion. Justice Thomas has authored three majority opinions so far during the current term.
Chief Justice John Roberts filed a dissenting opinion, concluding that nominal damages claims are not a sufficient basis for Article III legal standing in a case.
This was Roberts’ first dissenting opinion in a case argued during the 2020-2021 term as well as his first lone dissent since joining the court in 2005. Roberts filed a dissent in the case Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo, which was decided without argument.
To date, the court has issued opinions in 19 cases for the current term. Four cases were decided without argument.
Direct legislative appointment yields the lowest average partisan confidence score for state supreme court justices of any method, according to the Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship study. The Michigan-Ohio method produced the highest average partisan confidence score of 11 for all justices, while the direct legislative appointment method produced an average partisan confidence score of 5 for its justices.
In addition to recording the lowest average partisan confidence score for justices, the direct legislative appointment method produced a court balance score of 3.7. The court balance score recorded for direct legislative appointment was the fifth-highest across the eight selection methods. We arrived at a court balance score by finding the average of partisan confidence scores while accounting for the differences between Democrats and Republicans, whereas the average score, also referred to as the pure partisanship score, is the average of all scores without regard to the differences between Democrats and Republicans.
Although the direct legislative appointment method produced a low average partisanship score for its justices, this could be due to the fact that it is used in fewer states than other methods. Only South Carolina and Virginia use direct legislative appointment.
South Carolina has four justices with mild Republican affiliation and one justice with indeterminate partisan affiliation. The court balance score for South Carolina is 4.2, mildly Republican. The pure partisanship score for South Carolina’s justices is 4.6, compared to the national average of 7.
Virginia has one justice with strong Republican affiliation, three justices with mild Republican affiliation, one justice with mild Democratic affiliation, and two justices with indeterminate partisan affiliation. The court balance score for Virginia is 3.3, mildly Republican. The pure partisanship score for Virginia’s justices is 5.3, compared to the national average of 7.
Suggested headline: Ballotpedia releases federal judicial vacancy count for March 1
Type: Monthly update
In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies to all United States Article III federal courts from February 1, 2021, to March 1, 2021. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.
HIGHLIGHTS
Vacancies: There have been seven new judicial vacancies since the January 2021 report. There are 64 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions on courts covered in this report. Including the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States territorial courts, 67 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
Nominations: There were no new nominations since the January 2021 report.
Confirmations: There have been no new confirmations since the January 2021 report.
New vacancies
There were 64 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, a total vacancy percentage of 7.4.
• The nine-member U.S. Supreme Court does not have any vacancies.
• Four (2.2%) of the 179 U.S. Appeals Court positions are vacant.
• 59 (8.7%) of the 677 U.S. District Court positions are vacant.*
• One (11.1%) of the nine U.S. Court of International Trade positions is vacant.
*District court count does not include territorial courts.
Seven judges left active status, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies, since the previous vacancy count. As Article III judicial positions, vacancies must be filled by a nomination from the president. Nominations are subject to confirmation on the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.
• Judge Vanessa Bryant assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.
• Judge Solomon Oliver assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
• Judge Victoria Roberts assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
• Judge Carmen Cerezo retired from the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
• Judge Janet Neff assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.
• Judge Tim Savage assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
• Judge Paul Barbadoro assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire.
U.S. Court of Appeals vacancies
The following chart tracks the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals from the inauguration of President Joe Biden (D) to the date indicated on the chart.
The following maps show the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals at the inauguration of President Joe Biden (D) and as of March 1, 2021.
New nominations
As of March 1, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) had not announced any new nominations.
New confirmations
As of March 1, 2021, there have been no federal judicial confirmations during the Biden administration.
