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Bold Justice: June 7, 2021

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Bold Justice


Welcome to the June 7 edition of Bold Justice, Ballotpedia’s newsletter about the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and other judicial happenings around the U.S.

Argument sessions may be in SCOTUS’ rearview mirror, but the court is rolling through opinion season before cruising into its summer recess. So let’s open the sunroof, turn up the jams, and hit the road.

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

Grants

SCOTUS accepted four cases to its merits docket since our May 10 issue. To date, the court has agreed to hear 18 cases for the upcoming 2021-2022 term, scheduled to begin on October 4, 2021. 

  • Badgerow v. Walters concerns the federal courts' jurisdiction to confirm or vacate an arbitration award under the Federal Arbitration Act. Badgerow originated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
  • Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization concerns the constitutionality of a Mississippi state law prohibiting abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy except in cases of medical emergencies or fetal abnormalities. The case is a direct challenge to the court’s decision in the case Roe v. Wade (1973). The question presented is “[w]hether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional.” Dobbs originated from the 5th Circuit.
  • Shinn v. Ramirez concerns the scope of evidence a federal appellate court can consider when reviewing a petition for habeas relief. The question presented is "[d]oes application of the equitable rule this Court announced in Martinez v. Ryan render 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(2) inapplicable to a federal court’s merits review of a claim for habeas relief?” Shinn originated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
  • Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, LP concerns copyright infringement claims involving fabric designs. The question presented to the court is "[d]id the Ninth Circuit err in breaking with its own prior precedent and the findings of other circuits and the Copyright Office in holding that 17 U.S.C. § 411 requires referral to the Copyright Office where there is no indicia of fraud or material error as to the work at issue in the subject copyright registration?" Unicolors originated from the 9th Circuit.

Opinions

SCOTUS has issued opinions in 10 cases since our May 10 issue. The court has issued 42 opinions so far in this term. Seven cases were decided without argument. Of the cases that were argued during the term, 22 have yet to be decided. 

Click the links below to review the court’s rulings in the most recently decided cases:

May 17, 2021

May 24, 2021

May 27, 2021

June 1, 2021

June 3, 2021

Upcoming SCOTUS dates

Here are the court’s upcoming dates of interest:

  • June 7: SCOTUS will release orders.
  • June 10: SCOTUS will conference. A conference is a private meeting of the justices. 
  • June 14: SCOTUS will release orders.
  • June 17: SCOTUS will conference.
  • June 21: SCOTUS will release orders.
  • June 24: SCOTUS will conference.
  • June 28: SCOTUS will release orders.

Only one U.S. President has also served as a Supreme Court justice. Who was it?

  1. Grover Cleveland
  2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
  3. Woodrow Wilson
  4. William Howard Taft

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 May 1 to June 1. 

Highlights

Vacancy count for June 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

Six 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.

The following chart tracks the number of vacancies in the United States Courts 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 June 1, 2021.

New nominations

President Joe Biden (D) has announced six new nominations since the April 2021 report.

New confirmations

As of June 1, 2021, there have been no federal judicial confirmations during the Biden administration.

As of June 1 of the first year of President Donald Trump's (R) presidency, the U.S. Senate had confirmed two of Trump’s 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.

Hello, gentle readers! We resume our travels through federal judicial history via TWA flight and, oh my, is that a space race going on? Today’s edition of Bold Justice highlights President John F. Kennedy’s (D) federal judicial nominees from 1961 to 1963.


One hundred twenty-five of President Kennedy’s judicial nominees were confirmed. The U.S. Senate did not vote on 23 of the nominees. Among the most notable appointees were Supreme Court Justices Arthur Goldberg and Byron White. Both justices were nominated and commissioned in 1962.

President Kennedy’s first Article III appointee was confirmed on March 3, 1961—Judge William McRae to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. By the end of his first year in office, 56 of Kennedy’s nominees had been confirmed–11 to U.S. circuit court judgeships and 45 to U.S. district court seats. Kennedy averaged 44 judicial appointments per year. For comparison, President Jimmy Carter (D) had the highest average from 1901 to 2021 with 65.5 appointments per year.

We’ll be back on July 12 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.

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Why Bold Justice?

Well, there’s a story behind it, and we’re happy to credit Justice Samuel Alito for the inspiration. Back in October of 2014, Justice Alito joined his fellow Supreme Court Yale Law alumni, Justices Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor, for a panel as part of the law school’s alumni weekend (video below). During the discussion, the moderator asked the audience if they could guess which of the three justices on the panel served as the inspiration for a coffee house to name one of their blends of coffee, Bold Justice. Justice Alito responded, “Obviously, it’s me.”

He went on to tell the story of how, during his days as a Third Circuit judge, his law clerks participated in a Newark, New Jersey, coffee shop’s year-long promotion wherein if customers sampled every blend for one year, the customers could then create and name a blend of coffee. Justice Alito described Bold Justice as a blend that was “designed for about three o’clock in the afternoon if you’re working and you’re starting to fall asleep, if you have this, it will jolt you awake.” A blend of courts and coffee: sounds perfect to us!

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