Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 10/9/2013
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October 9, 2013
The vacancy warning level remains at yellow this week after one new vacancy and two confirmations, lowering the vacancy percentage to 10.7%. There were no new nominations this week allowing the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation to drop to 52. There were two confirmations this week and there was one transition to senior status in the past week, allowing the total number of vacancies of Article III judges to fall to 93 out of 865. A breakdown of the vacancies on each level can be found in the table below. For a more detailed look at the vacancies on the federal courts, see our Federal Court Vacancy Warning System.
Example tables
| Court | # of Seats | Vacancies |
| Supreme Court | 9 | 0 percent or no vacancies |
| Appeals Courts | 179 | 9.5 percent or 17 vacancies |
| District Courts | 677 | 11.2 percent or 76 vacancies |
| All Judges | 865 | 10.7 percent or 93 vacancies |
Deaths
Northern District of Ohio
John Potter
John Potter passed away on October 3, 2013. He was a judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, on which he served for 31 years. Fellow federal judge David Katz said this about Judge Potter,
| “ | He was a very bright man. He was learned in the law. He was successful and respected in every position he held, whether it was as mayor, state appellate court judge, or federal trial judge... I would venture to say it would be very difficult to find those who came into contact with him, either as a lawyer or fellow jurist, who would disagree with that assessment.[1][2] | ” |
He was appointed to the court by President Ronald Reagan in 1982. Prior to joining the federal courts he was a judge for 13 years on the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals. As well as being a judge, he was Toledo's Mayor for 6 years and an attorney for 22 years.[3]
New vacancies
District of South Carolina
Cameron Currie
| Cameron Currie retired on October 3, 2013, and assumed senior status. Currie was appointed to the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina by President Bill Clinton on January 27, 1994 and received her commission on March 11, 1994. One of her most notable cases while serving on the court was one that involved the state of South Carolina. The case revolved around the passing of state legislation that allowed the production of a license plate that depicted the words "I Believe" and cross in a stained glass window. Judge Currie ruled that the license plate was unconstitutional, in that it directly promoted the christian faith. Alison Renee Lee was nominated to fill Judge Currie's seat, but is still awaiting confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Judge Currie's retirement creates a second vacancy on the District of South Carolina and raises the warning level from blue to yellow | 
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New confirmations
Central District of Illinois
Colin Sterling Bruce
Colin Stirling Bruce was confirmed by the Senate on October 7, 2013 on a roll call vote of 98-0. Bruce will be leaving the U.S. Attorney's office where he was serving as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney to join the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. Senator Dick Durbin had this to say about confirmation of Bruce and Sara Lee Ellis:
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Northern District of Illinois
Sara Lee Ellis
On October 7, 2013, Sara Lee Ellis was confirmed by the Senate on a voice vote. She was Counsel for Schiff Hardin LLP before her confirmation to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Upon receiving her confirmation Ellis had this to say:
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New nominations
There were no new nominations this past week.
Weekly map
The weekly map is updated every week and posted here and on the vacancy warning level analysis page.
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Toledo Blade, "John W. Potter, 1918-2013: Former Toledo mayor initiated downtown development," October 6, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "John Potter," accessed October 9, 2013
- ↑ Sun Times, "Senate confirms Chicago lawyer Sara Ellis for federal bench," October 7, 2013
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Chicago attorney confirmed to federal bench here," October 7, 2013
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