Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 11/23/2011
November 23, 2011
- For a District by District break down, see: Federal Court Vacancy Warning System
The current vacancy warning level for the U.S. District courts is set at Blue and is unchanged from last week. There was one additional vacancy at the district court level. The final tally leaves 79 vacancies or approximately 9.1% of the total Article III posts currently unfilled. This represents the lowest number of vacancies since our study has begun. 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 Courts00ccff | 9.3% or 63 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 53 pending appointments in the Senate leaving 35% of the vacant posts without an appointment. So far this year there have been 54 confirmations.
New confirmations
There were no new confirmations this past week. This is the first time in 7 weeks that the Senate has not acted on a judicial nomination.
New vacancies
District of Columbia District
On November 18, 2011 Henry Kennedy assumed senior status for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Kennedy has served on the court for 14 years after a May 15, 1997 from Bill Clinton. Prior to appointment, he served as a magistrate judge on the court for 3 years. He received his bachelor's from Princeton in 1970 and his J.D. from Harvard Law in 1973. The transition to senior status will create an additional vacancy on the court of 15 for a total of 2 vacancies. This will raise the vacancy warning level from Blue to Yellow.
New nominations
Eastern District of Michigan
On November 17, 2011 Barack Obama nominated Gershwin Drain to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to fill the seat vacated by Bernard Friedman.[1] Drain is currently a judge on the 3rd Circuit Court, Michigan where he has served for 14 years. Prior to that he served on the Michigan Thirty-sixth Judicial District Court and in the Federal Defender's Office. Obama commented on the nomination, stating, "Judge Gershwin A. Drain will bring an unwavering commitment to fairness and judicial integrity to the federal bench. His impressive legal career is a testament to the kind of thoughtful and diligent judge he will be on the U.S. District Court. I am honored to nominate him today."[2] The appointment would fill one of two vacancies on the court of 15.
See also
Footnotes
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