%%subject%%

Welcome to the April 12 edition of Bold Justice, Ballotpedia’s newsletter about the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and other judicial happenings around the U.S.

Don’t be fooled, it is indeed April! The court’s argument sessions for this term are winding down and their opinions are pouring in like this month’s fabled showers.

Stay up to date on the latest news by following Ballotpedia on Twitter or subscribing to the Daily Brew.

SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER

April sitting

The Supreme Court will begin its April argument session next week, hearing cases remotely and streaming live argument audio to the public. The court is conducting proceedings this way in accordance with public health guidance in response to COVID-19.

The court will hear arguments in the following cases:

April 19

Yellen v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation (Consolidated with Alaska Native Village Corporation Association v. Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation)
Sanchez v. Mayorkas

April 20

April 21

Grants

SCOTUS accepted two cases since our March 29 issue for a total of two hours of oral argument. Both cases originated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. The 6th Circuit holds jurisdiction over Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.

The cases will be scheduled for argument during the court’s 2021-2022 October term, which begins on October 4, 2021. To date, the court has accepted 10 cases for the term.

Cameron v. EMW Women’s Surgical Center, P.S.C. concerns whether a state official may intervene in a case to defend a state law that has been invalidated and Fourteenth Amendment protections of a woman's right to choose whether to have an abortion.
Brown v. Davenport concerns the standard necessary to grant federal habeas relief to a person held in state custody. U.S. federal courts can use writs of habeas corpus to determine if a state's detention of a prisoner is valid.

Opinions

SCOTUS issued five opinions since our March 29 issue. The court has issued 26 opinions so far this term. Five cases were decided without argument.

March 29

Mays v. Hines (Decided without argument)
- In an 8-1 per curiam ruling, the 6th Circuit ruling was reversed.

April 1

Florida v. Georgia
- In a unanimous decision, the court dismissed the case. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the majority opinion.
FCC v. Prometheus Radio Project (Consolidated with National Association of Broadcasters v. Prometheus Radio Project)
- The court ruled unanimously to reverse the 3rd Circuit's judgment. Justice Brett Kavanaugh delivered the court’s majority opinion.
Facebook v. Duguid
- The court reversed the 9th Circuit’s ruling and remanded the case for further proceedings in a unanimous decision. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the majority opinion.

April 5

Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc.
- In a 6-2 vote, the court reversed the Federal Circuit’s ruling and remanded the case for further proceedings. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the majority. Justice Clarence Thomas filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justice Samuel Alito. Justice Barrett had no part in the decision or consideration of the case because she was not a member of the court when the case was argued.

Upcoming SCOTUS dates

Here are the court’s upcoming dates of interest:

April 16: SCOTUS will conference. A conference is a private meeting of the justices.
April 19:
- SCOTUS will release orders.
- SCOTUS will hear arguments in three cases.
April 20: SCOTUS will hear arguments in two cases
April 21: SCOTUS will hear arguments in two cases.
April 23: SCOTUS will conference.

Supreme Court justices are known for their landmark decisions and fashion choices of robes, collars, and jabots. During which court term did the Justices first start wearing robes?

Choose an answer to find out!

The Federal Vacancy Count tracks vacancies, nominations, and confirmations to all United States Article III federal courts in a one-month period. This month’s edition includes nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from March 1 to April 1.

Highlights

Vacancies: There have been five new judicial vacancies since the February 2021 report. There are 70 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, 73 of 890 active federal judicial positions were vacant at the time of the report.

Nominations: There have been 10 new nominations announced since the February 2021 report.

Confirmations: There have been no new confirmations since the February 2021 report.

Vacancy count for April 1, 2021

A breakdown of the vacancies at each level can be found in the table below. For a more detailed look at the vacancies on the federal courts, click here.

*Though the United States territorial courts are named as district courts, they are not Article III courts. They are created in accordance with the power granted under Article IV of the U.S. Constitution. Click here for more information.

New vacancies

Five judges left active status, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies, since the previous vacancy count. As Article III judicial positions, the president nominates individuals to fill the vacancies. Nominations are subject to U.S. Senate confirmation.

Judge Peter Hall assumed senior status on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
Judge Merrick Garland retired from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, following his confirmation as U.S. Attorney General.
Judge Mary Briscoe assumed senior status on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.
Judge Darnell Jones assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Judge Anthony J. Battaglia assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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.

U.S. District Court vacancies

The following map shows the number of vacancies in the United States District Courts as of April 1, 2021.

As of April 1, 2021, President Joe Biden (D) announced his intent to nominate 10 individuals to Article III judgeships.

President Biden also announced his intent to nominate Rupa Ranga Puttagunta to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

The official nominations of these judges have not been submitted to the U.S. Senate as of this writing.

New confirmations

As of April 1, there have been no federal judicial confirmations during the Biden administration.

As of April 1 of the first year of President Donald Trump's presidency, the U.S. Senate had not confirmed any Article III judicial nominees.

Need a daily fix of judicial nomination, confirmation, and vacancy information? Click here for continuing updates on the status of all federal judicial nominees.

Or, keep an eye on our list for updates on federal judicial nominations.

Welcome to the ‘80s! There’s a new Hall & Oates album playing, the Lakers and Celtics just went into overtime, and everybody’s cutting footloose. But before we head to the mall (or back to the future), let’s take a look at President Ronald Reagan's (R) judicial nominees from 1981 to 1989.

During his two terms in office, President Reagan had 402 judges successfully nominated and confirmed to the federal bench. Of those, 382 were to Article III judgeships. Among the most notable of these are Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor, and Antonin Scalia. Reagan also nominated William Rehnquist to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

When President Reagan assumed office in January 1981, he inherited 34 life-term vacancies out of 660 total Article III judgeships (5.15%). Reagan inherited the second-lowest vacancy percentage of all presidents since 1981. President George H.W. Bush had a lower vacancy percentage when he assumed office, 4.89%.

Of his Article III appointees–not including Supreme Court nominations–President Reagan appointed 83 judges to the United States Courts of Appeal, 290 judges to U.S. district courts, and six judges to the U.S. Court of International Trade.

We’ll be back on April 19 with a new edition of Bold Justice. Until then, gaveling out!

Contributions

Kate Carsella compiled and edited this newsletter, with contributions from Brittony Maag, Jace Lington, and Sara Reynolds.

Everything on Ballotpedia is free to read

But it isn't free to produce. We depend on people like you to ensure that access to neutral and accurate information about American politics stays available to all. Donations to Ballotpedia are tax deductible and go directly toward producing great content like this newsletter.

Please consider donating today!

DONATE TO BALLOTPEDIA

BALLOTPEDIA NEWS

Why subscribe to Bold Justice?

Need to stay on top of the whirlwind world of the federal judiciary of the United States?

Join us, counsel, as we lay the foundation for what happened this week in the world of federal courts. Our record will reflect the cases SCOTUS heard, which judges retired, which were nominated, and what important rulings come out of other federal courts. Call us as your next witness and get the most in-depth coverage of federal courts available to your inbox. Subscribe for free today.

Ballotpedia has been providing new areas of coverage, performing in-depth analyses, and developing new tools to help keep our readers in the know since 2006. This is one more resource to keep you informed—one that can be delivered to your inbox once a week.

Bold Justice: April 12, 2021

SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER

April sitting

Grants

Opinions

Upcoming SCOTUS dates

Highlights

Vacancy count for April 1, 2021

New vacancies

U.S. District Court vacancies

New confirmations

Contributions

Everything on Ballotpedia is free to read

Contents

Why subscribe to Bold Justice?

Archive

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

Why Bold Justice?

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

SITE NAVIGATION