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Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 1/2/2013
January 2, 2013
- For a District by District break down, see: Federal Court Vacancy Warning System
The vacancy warning level for the U.S. District courts is currently set at Blue. There were eight new vacancies this past week (three added retroactively on 1/16/2013), leaving the final tally at 78 vacancies or approximately 9% of the total Article III posts currently unfilled. The vacancy information for the various court levels is as follows:
| Key: | |
| (Percentage of seats vacant.) | |
| 0% | 1%-9% |
| 10%-24% | 25%-40% |
| More than 40% | |
| Supreme Court | 0% or no vacancies |
| Appeals Courts | 8.9% or 16 vacancies |
| District Courts | 9.1% or 62 vacancies |
There are currently 9 Supreme Court posts, 179 appellate court posts and 680 district court posts for a total of 868 Article III judges. This count includes four temporary posts, one each in the Northern District of Alabama, District of Arizona, Southern District of Florida and the Central District of California. This also includes a shared post between the two Missouri districts and counts it as two posts with separate vacancies.
Weekly map
The new weekly map feature will be updated every week and posted here and on the vacancy warning level analysis page.
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New confirmations
There were no new confirmations this past week.
New vacancies
Tenth Circuit
On December 31, 2012 Michael R. Murphy (Tenth Circuit) assumed senior status for the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit after serving on the court for 17 years.[1] Murphy first joined the court on August 14, 1995 after an appointment from Bill Clinton. At the time of his appointment he was a judge for the Third District Court of Utah. A native of Colorado, Murphy graduated from Creighton University, a Jesuit university based in Omaha with his bachelor's degree in 1969 and later graduated from the University of Wyoming with his J.D. degree in 1972.[2] The transition to senior status creates the third vacancy on the court of twelve, leaving the vacancy warning level unchanged at Yellow.
District of Montana
On December 31, 2012 Sam Haddon assumed senior status for the United States District Court for the District of Montana after serving on the court for 11 years.[3] Haddon first joined the court on July 25, 2001 after an appointment from George W. Bush. At the time of his appointment he was a private practice attorney in Montana. Haddon was a graduate of Rice University with his bachelor's degree in 1959 and later graduated from the University of Montana, School of Law with his Juris Doctorate degree in 1965.[2] The transition to senior status creates the first vacancy on the court of three, raising the vacancy warning level from Green to Orange.
Southern District of Texas
On December 31, 2012 Hilda Tagle assumed senior status for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas after serving on the court for 14 years.[4] Tagle first joined the court on May 17, 1998 after an appointment from Bill Clinton. At the time of her appointment she was a Judge of the District Court for the 148th District Court of Texas. Born in Corpus Christi, Texas,Raised in Robstown,Texas Tagle received her Associate's degree in 1967 from Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas with her Associate's degree in 1967, and later obtained her bachelor's degree in 1969 from Texas A&M University Commerce.[5] Tagle received a Master's degree in 1971 from The University of North Texas, and her Juris Doctor Degree, J.D. degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1977.[2] The transition to senior status creates the second vacancy on the court of nineteen, raising the vacancy warning level from Blue to Yellow.
District of Massachusetts
On January 1, 2013 Mark Wolf assumed senior status for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts after serving on the court for 27 years.[6] Wolf first joined the court on April 4, 1985 after an appointment from Ronald Reagan. Wolf served as chief judge of the court from 2006 until 2012. At the time of his appointment he served as a Deputy U.S. Attorney and Chief of Public Corruption Unit in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Wolf graduated from Yale University with his bachelor's degree in 1968 and received a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in 1971. Wolf also served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1969 to 1975.[7][8] The transition to senior status creates the second vacancy on the court of thirteen, raising the vacancy warning level from Blue to Yellow.
District of Colorado
On January 1, 2013 Wiley Daniel assumed senior status for the United States District Court for the District of Colorado after serving on the court for 17 years.[9] Daniel first joined the court on June 30, 1989 after an appointment from Bill Clinton. Daniel served as chief judge of the court from 2008 until 2012. At the time of his appointment he was a private practice attorney in Colorado. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Daniel received his bachelor's degree from Howard University in 1968 before earning his J.D. degree from Howard University Law School in 1971.[8] The transition to senior status creates the first vacancy on the court of seven, raising the vacancy warning level from Green to Yellow.
New nominations
There were no new nominations this past week.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. Courts Current Vacancies
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Judge Murphy's Biography at the Federal Judicial Center Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ U.S. Courts Current Vacancies
- ↑ U.S. Courts Current Vacancies
- ↑ Formerly East Texas State University
- ↑ U.S. Courts Current Vacancies
- ↑ Formerly East Texas State University
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Judge Mark Wolf Federal Judicial Biography Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "FJC Bio" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ U.S. Courts Current Vacancies
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