Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 10/5/2011
October 5, 2011
- For a District by District break down, see: Federal Court Vacancy Warning System
The current vacancy warning level for the U.S. Federal courts is set at Yellow and is unchanged from last week despite three new vacancies and five new confirmations lowering the total vacancies to 89 and leaving approximately 10.3% of the total Article III posts currently unfilled. In addition, the vacancy warning level for the appellate courts dropped to blue for the first time in a week with the confirmation of Henry Floyd to the Fourth Circuit. 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 | 9.5% or 17 vacancies |
| District Courts | 10.6% or 72 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. There are currently 51 pending appointments in the Senate leaving 43% of the vacant posts without an appointment. So far this year there have been 45 confirmations.
Monthly map
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New confirmations
On October 3, 2011, in a flurry of activity, the United States Senate confirmed 5 judges to district court and 1 judge to the circuit courts.
Fourth Circuit
After waiting for eighth months, Henry Floyd was confirmed to the Fourth Circuit after serving on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina for 8 years. Floyd received a Unanimously Well Qualified rating from the American Bar Association and was confirmed with a vote of 96-0. You can find his his Committee Questionnaire available here and his Questions for the Record available here.[1] The confirmation fills one of the two posts on the court of 15, lowering the vacancy warning level from Yellow to Blue.
District of Arizona
Congress also moved to confirm Jennifer Zipps to the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Zipps was first appointed to the post by Barack Obama on June 23, 2011 and was confirmed with a voice vote. You can find her his Committee Questionnaire available here and her Questions for the Record available here.[1] Zipps will be leaving a post as a federal magistrate judge on the same court. The confirmation fills one of three vacancies on the court of thirteen posts but leaves the vacancy warning level unchanged at Yellow.
Southern District of Texas
Marina Marmolejo was confirmed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas after waiting for 14 months for her confirmation. Marmolejo was originally appointed to the position on July 28, 2010 by Barack Obama. At the time of appointment, Marmolejo was in private practice, but she has served as and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. You can find her his Committee Questionnaire available here and her Questions for the Record available here.[1] The confirmation fills one of three vacancies on the court of nineteen posts but the vacancy warning level remains at Yellow.
Eastern District of New York
William Kuntz was confirmed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Kuntz was appointed to the post by Barack Obama on March 9, 2011. At the time of appointment, Kuntz was in private practice. You can find his his Committee Questionnaire available here and his Questions for the Record available here.[1]
The confirmation fills one of three vacancies on the court of fifteen posts but the vacancy warning level remains at Yellow.
District of Maine
Nancy Torresen was confirmed to the United States District Court for the District of Maine. Torresen was appointed to the post by Barack Obama on March 2, 2011. At the time of appointment, Torresen was Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Maine. You can find her his Committee Questionnaire available here and her Questions for the Record available here.[1] The confirmation fills the only vacancy on the court of three posts lowering the vacancy warning level from Orange to Green.
Eastern District of Louisiana
Nannette Brown was confirmed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Brown was appointed to the post by Barack Obama on March 2, 2011. At the time of appointment, Brown was a City Attorney for the City of New Orleans. You can find her his Committee Questionnaire available here and her Questions for the Record available here.[1] The confirmation fills the one of the three vacancies on the court of twelve posts, but the vacancy warning level remains at Yellow.
New vacancies
Eastern District of Pennsylvania
On October 1, 2011 Harvey Bartle transitioned to senior status for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania after serving on the court for 20 years and serving as the chief judge for the past 5 years. Originally appointed by George H.W. Bush, Bartle was a private practice attorney at the time of his appointment, but had served as the State attorney general of the State of Pennsylvania prior to his legal practice. The vacancy creates a fourth vacancy on the court of 22 but the vacancy warning level remains unchanged at Yellow.
Eastern District of Texas
On October 1, 2011 T. John Ward retired at the age of 68 from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas after serving on the court for 12 years.[2] Originally appointed by Bill Clinton, Ward was a private practice attorney in Texas prior to appointment. He has also served as the Assistant County Attorney for Lubbock County, Texas. Ward is famous for sentencing Patrick Neil Womack to three years in prison for threatening federal judge David Folsom while serving his prison sentence. Despite the vacancy, the vacancy warning level for the court remains at Yellow.
District of South Carolina
The elevation on October 3, 2011 of Henry Floyd to the Fourth Circuit created a new vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.[2] The transition raises the vacancy warning level of the court from Green to Blue.
New nominations
There were no new appointments this past week.
See also
Footnotes
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