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Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 5/23/2012
May 23, 2012
- 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. There was one new confirmation at the appellate level and one new confirmation at the district level and one new vacancy at the district court this past week, leaving the final tally at 70 vacancies or approximately 8.1% of the total Article III posts currently unfilled. In addition, we cover the creation of one new post this past year and the expiration of one temporary post. 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 | 7.3% or 13 vacancies |
| District Courts | 8.4% or 57 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
Ninth Circuit
On Monday, May 21, 2012 Paul Watford was confirmed by the United States Senate to the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit with a vote of 61-34.[1][2] Watford was originally appointed on October 17, 2011 by Barack Obama to the seat vacated by Pamela Ann Rymer. At the time of appointment, Watford was an Appellate litigation partner at the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in Los Angeles, CA. Watford was rated Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Not Qualified by the American Bar Association. He had a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on December 13, 2011 and you can find his Committee Questionnaire available here and his Questions for the Record available here.[3] The confirmation fills one of three vacancies on the court of twenty-nine, leaving the vacancy warning level unchanged at Blue.
New vacancies
There were no new vacancies this past week.
New nominations
Middle District of Pennsylvania
On May 17, Barack Obama nominated two judges to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Obama commented on the nominations, stating, "I am pleased to nominate these distinguished individuals to serve on the United States District Court bench. I am confident they will serve the American people with integrity and a steadfast commitment to justice."[4]
Obama nominated Matthew Brann to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania to fill the vacancy left by Thomas Vanaskie.[5] Brann is currently a partner at the firm Brann, Williams, Caldwell & Sheetz. He attended The University of Notre Dame, earning his B.A. in 1987. He went on to earn his J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law at Pennsylvania State University.[4]
Obama nominated Malachy Mannion to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania to fill the vacancy left by A. Richard Caputo.[5] Mannion currently serves as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the district, a position he has held since 2001. He has spent a majority of his career as a Assistant United States Attorney for the district. He earned his B.S. from the University of Scranton in 1976 and his J.D. from Pace University School of Law in 1979.[4]
If confirmed, the appointments would fill the only remaining vacancies on the court of six.
Northern District of Illinois
On May 21, 2012 Barack Obama nominated Thomas M. Durkin to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to fill the vacancy left by Wayne Andersen.[6] Durkin is currently a partner at the law firm of Mayer Brown LLP. He earned his B.S. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1975. He went on to earn his J.D. three years later at DePaul University College of Law. Obama commented on the nomination stating, “I am honored to put forward this highly qualified candidate for the federal bench. He will be a distinguished public servant and valuable addition to the United States District Court.”[7]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Report on the Activities of the Senate Judiciary Committee, 112th Congress
- ↑ United States Periodic Press Gallery
- ↑ 112th Congress Nomination Materials
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "President Obama Nominates Two to Serve on the US District Court" 5/17/2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate" 5/17/2012
- ↑ "Presidential Nomination Sent to the Senate" 5/21/2012
- ↑ "President Obama Nominates Thomas M. Durkin to Serve on the US District Court" 5/21/2012
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