Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 12/18/2013

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 1%-9% 10%-24% 25%-40% More than 40%

December 18, 2013

By Courtney Collins

This week's Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from December 4, 2013 to December 10, 2013. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on December 11th will be reflected in the December 18th report. The Wednesday Vacancy Count will be taking a brief break for the holiday season and will return on January 8, 2013.

The vacancy warning level remained at yellow this week after one new vacancy and five new confirmations. The vacancy percentage fell to 10.3%. There were no new nominations this week, allowing the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation to fall to 46. The number of vacancies of Article III judges fell to 89 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.

Vacancies by court

Court	# of Seats	Vacancies
Supreme Court	9	0% or no vacancies
Appeals Courts	179	9.0% or 16 vacancies
District Courts	677	10.8% or 73 vacancies
All Judges	865	10.3% or 89 vacancies

New confirmations

Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia

Cornelia T. L. Pillard

On December 12, 2013, Cornelia T. L. Pillard was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on a vote of 51-44. Pillard is the second of the three nominees to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to be confirmed by the Senate, the other being Patricia Ann Millett. Pillard's nomination was filibustered on November 13, 2013 and led to Senate Democrats changing the filibuster rules. Comments on her confirmation ranged from high praise to high skepticism. “ Despite having filled nearly half of law school classrooms for the last 20 years, women are grossly underrepresented on our Federal courts. We need women on the Federal bench... The Senate moved another step forward in that effort by voting to confirm Nina Pillard, one of several highly qualified women nominated by President Obama like Patricia Millett, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor. I am proud to support such incredible nominees, and I applaud the Senate for voting to confirm Nina Pillard. ” —Senator Patrick Leahy D-VT, “ Professor Pillard may be a fine person, but she is not someone who should receive a lifetime position on the second highest court in the land. She will be confirmed, however, because of the Democrat Majority’s power grab... In short, Professor Pillard does not seem like a person with the mindset or temperament of a judge... She seems like a person with the attitude and disposition of a left-wing academic, someone who seems to come to conclusions based on how well they support her own theories. ” —Senator Mitch McConnell R-KY, Prior to her confirmation, Pillard was a Law Professor at Georgetown University for 16 years. She earned her B.A. from Yale, graduating magna cum laude, in 1983 and her J.D. from Harvard Law, also graduating magna cum laude, in 1987.Her confirmation removes one of the three vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and lowers the vacancy warning level from yellow to blue.

Western District of New York

Elizabeth A. Wolford

On December 12, 2013, Elizabeth A. Wolford was confirmed to the United States District Court for the Western District of New York by the Senate on a vote of 70-29. She filled the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. Wolford was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 16, 2013, and spent 210 days in the confirmation process. Prior to her confirmation Wolford was a partner at The Wolford Law Firm. She earned her undergraduate degree from Colgate University in 1989 and her J.D. from the University of Notre Dame in 1992. Charles Schumer on the confirmation: “ I am thrilled to see Buffalo- and Rochester’s-own Elizabeth Wolford confirmed by the Senate for a seat on the Western District federal court... For a long time, one of my goals has been to bring a woman to the federal bench in Western New York. Liz will not only do that, but she will also bring her considerable experience and first-rate legal mind to the bench; she is simply one of the finest judicial candidates I have ever met and I am glad to see her ascend to the bench of the Western District. ” —Charles Schumer D-NY, Wolford's confirmation removed the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Western District of New York lowering the vacancy warning level from yellow to green.

District of New Hampshire

Landya McCafferty

On December 12, 2013, the U.S. Senate confirmed Landya McCafferty to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire on a vote of 79-19. McCafferty was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 23, 2013 to fill a vacancy created by Steven McAuliffe. McCafferty was a federal magistrate judge for the same court prior to her confirmation. She earned her B.A., cum laude, from Harvard University in 1984 and her J.D. from the Northeastern University School of Law in 1991. Senators from the state of New Hampshire on her confirmation: “ Landya is exceptionally qualified and experienced and will be a great addition to the federal bench for the District of New Hampshire... We look forward to her service as the first woman to hold this position in our state now that the Senate has cleared her historic nomination. ” —Senators Jeanne Shaheen D-NH and Kelly Ayotte R-NH, The confirmation removes the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire lowering the vacancy warning level from orange to green.

District of Montana

Brian Morris

[[Brian Morris]] was confirmed by the Senate on December 12, 2013 on a vote of 75-20 to the United States District Court for the District of Montana. Morris was an Associate Justice for the Montana Supreme Court at the time of his confirmation. He was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 23, 2013 to a vacancy created by Sam Haddon and spent 203 days in the confirmation process. Morris earned his B.A., M.A. and J.D. from Stanford University in 1986, 1987 and 1992, respectively. Senator Max Baucus: “ The confirmation of two excellent Montanans to serve on the federal bench is great news and critical to addressing the judicial emergencies brought on by vacancies on the court... Brian Morris and Susan Watters have a long record of public service, integrity and leadership. I am certain they will continue to serve Montanans well at a time when their service is so greatly needed. ” —Senator Max Baucus D-MT, His confirmation, along with Susan P Watters', removes the two vacancies on the United States District Court for the District of Montana lowering the vacancy warning level from red to green.

Susan P. Watters

Susan P. Watters was also confirmed to the United States District Court for the District of Montana by the Senate on December 12, 2013 on a vote of 77-19. Watters was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 23, 2013 to fill a vacancy created by Richard Cebull. At the time of her confirmation Watters was a District Judge for the Montana 13th Judicial District Court. She earned her B.A. from Eastern Montana College in 1980 and her J.D. from the University of Montana School of Law in 1988. Her confirmation, along with [[Brian Morris|Brian Morris']], removes the two vacancies on the United States District Court for the District of Montana lowering the vacancy warning level from red to green.

New vacancies

Southern District of Florida

Donald Graham

Donald Graham assumed senior status on December 15, 2013, after 22 years of active service on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Graham was nominated by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. His transition to senior status creates a third vacancy on the Southern District of Florida. The vacancy warning level remains at yellow.

New nominations

There were no new nominations this week.

Weekly map

The weekly map is updated every week and posted here and on the vacancy warning level analysis page.

Year in review

Vacancy by court

This year there was a net loss of eight judges in the federal judiciary. There were no vacancies on the Supreme Court of the United States this year. The United States Court of Appeals had one less vacancy at the end of the year than it started with, while the United States District Courts had nine more vacancies than at the start of the year. The change in percentage of vacancies was .9% pushing the vacancy warning level from blue to yellow.

Court	# of Seats	Vacancies 1/9/2013	Vacancies 12/18/2013
Supreme Court	9	0% or no vacancies	0% or no vacancies
Appeals Courts	179	9.4% or 17 vacancies	9.0% or 16 vacancies
District Courts	677	9.4% or 64 vacancies	10.8% or 73 vacancies
All Judges	865	9.4% or 81 vacancies	10.3% or 89 vacancies

Maps by month

Below is an animated image that shows the first vacancy map of each month for 2013.

See also

• United States federal courts

Footnotes