Tagjudicial

Through Oct. 1, 2022, there were 890 authorized federal judicial posts and 85 vacancies. Eighty-three of those were for Article III judgeships. This report is limited to Article III courts, where appointees are confirmed to lifetime judgeships. In the past month:

1. Eight judges have been confirmed
2. Nine judges have been nominated.

By Oct. 1, 620 days in office, President Joe Biden (D) had nominated 141 judges to Article III judgeships. For historical comparison: 

1. President Donald Trump (R) had nominated 162 individuals, 86 of whom were ultimately confirmed to their positions.
2. President Barack Obama (D) had nominated 99 individuals, 65 of whom were confirmed.
3. President George W. Bush (R) had nominated 167 individuals, 100 of whom were confirmed.

*Note: These figures include unsuccessful nominations.

The following data visualizations track the number of Article III judicial nominations by president by days in office during the Biden, Trump, Obama, and W. Bush administrations (2001-present). 

The first tracker is limited to successful nominations, where the nominee was ultimately confirmed to their respective court:

The second tracker counts all Article III nominations, including unsuccessful nominations (for example, the nomination was withdrawn or the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination), renominations of individuals to the same court, and recess appointments. A recess appointment is when the president appoints a federal official while the Senate is in recess.

The data contained in these charts is compiled by Ballotpedia staff from publicly available information provided by the Federal Judicial Center. The comparison by days shown between the presidents is not reflective of the larger states of the federal judiciary during their respective administrations and is intended solely to track nominations by president by day.

Additional reading:

https://ballotpedia.org/Judicial_vacancies_in_federal_courts

https://ballotpedia.org/Federal_judges_nominated_by_Joe_Biden

https://ballotpedia.org/The_Federal_Judicial_Vacancy_Count_10/1/2022

In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies in Article III courts during the month of January through Feb. 1, 2022. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Vacancies: There have been five new judicial vacancies since the December 2021 report. There are 79 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, 81 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
• Nominations: There were eight new nominations since the December 2021 report.
• Confirmations: There were five confirmations since the December 2021 report.

Five 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 Michael Juneau assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
• Judge Martin Feldman of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana died on January 26, 2022.
• Judge Elizabeth Foote assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
• Judge Julie Robinson assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.
• Judge Vanessa Gilmore retired from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

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 Biden’s inauguration and as of Feb. 1, 2022.

New nominations

Biden has announced eight new nominations since the December 2021 report.

• Arianna Freeman, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• Ana de Alba, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
• Tiffany Cartwright, to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
• Nusrat Choudhury, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• Robert Huie, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
• Natasha Merle, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• Jennifer Rearden, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
• Nina Y. Wang, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado

Since taking office in January 2021, Biden has nominated 82 individuals to Article III positions.

New confirmations

There have been five new confirmations since the December 2021 report.

• Holly Thomas, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
• Gabriel Sanchez, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
• Bridget Brennan, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
• Charles Fleming, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
• David Ruiz, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

As of Feb. 1, 2022, the Senate had confirmed 45 of Biden’s judicial nominees—32 district court judges and 13 appeals court judges. To review a complete list of Biden’s confirmed nominees, click here.

Additional reading:

• Current federal judicial vacancies
• Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden
• Judicial vacancies during the Biden administration
• Federal judicial appointments by president
• United States federal courts