Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 2/12/2014
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February 12, 2014
This week's Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from February 5, 2014 to February 11, 2014. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on February 12th will be reflected in the February 19th report.
The vacancy warning level remained at yellow this week after no vacancies and no new confirmations. The vacancy percentage remained at 11.1%. There were 5 new nominations this week, which allowed the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation to rise to 63. The number of vacancies of Article III judges remained at 96 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 | 8.9% or 16 vacancies |
| District Courts | 677 | 11.8% or 80 vacancies |
| All Judges | 865 | 11.1% or 96 vacancies |
New vacancies
There were no new vacancies this week.
New confirmations
There were no new confirmations this week.
New nominations
The President on the nominations
President Barack Obama on his nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit:
| “ | Cheryl Ann Krause has displayed exceptional dedication to the legal profession through her work and I am honored to nominate her to serve the American people as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals. She will be a diligent, judicious and esteemed addition to the Third Circuit bench.[1] | ” |
On his nominations to the United States District Courts:
| “ | Throughout their careers, these distinguished men and women have demonstrated a steadfast commitment to public service. I am confident they will serve the American people with distinction from the District Court bench.[3] | ” |
Third Circuit
Cheryl Ann Krause
| On February 6, 2014, Cheryl Ann Krause was nominated by President Barack Obama to fill a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. Krause has been a partner at the law firm of Dechert LLP, located in Philadelphia. Krause earned her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating summa cum laude in 1989 and her J.D. from Stanford Law School, graduating with highest honors in 1993.[1]
The vacancy was created when Dolores Sloviter assumed senior status on June 21, 2013. The United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit has two vacancies out of the fourteen posts. The Vacancy warning level is set at yellow. |
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Middle District of Florida
Paul G. Byron
| Paul G. Byron was nominated by President Barack Obama on February 6, 2014 to a seat on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Byron has been a partner at the law firm of Overchuck & Byron, P.A.. Byron earned his A.B. from the University of Michigan in 1983 and his J.D. from the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1986.[3]
The nomination is for a forthcoming vacancy that will occur when James S. Moody assumes senior status on March 31, 2014. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida has one vacancy of the fifteen spots. The vacancy warning level is set at blue. |
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Carlos E. Mendoza
| Carlos E. Mendoza was nominated by President Barack Obama on February 6, 2014 to fill a vacancy on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Mendoza is a judge on Florida's Seventh Circuit Court, where he has served since 2011. Mendoza earned his B.A. from West Virginia University, graduating magna cum laude in 1993 and his J.D. from the West Virginia University College of Law in 1997.[3]
The vacancy Mendoza was nominated to fill was created when John Antoon assumed senior status on June 3, 2013. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida has one vacancy of the fifteen posts. The vacancy warning level is set at blue. |
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Southern District of Florida
Beth Bloom
| On February 6, 2014, Beth Bloom was nominated by President Barack Obama to fill a vacancy on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Bloom is a judge of Florida's Eleventh Circuit Court where she has served since 2010. Bloom earned her B.A. from the University of Florida in 1984, and her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 1988.[3]
The vacancy was created when Donald Graham took senior status on December 15, 2013. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida has three vacancies of its 18 posts. The vacancy warning level is set at yellow. |
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Darrin P. Gayles
| On February 6, 2014, Darrin P. Gayles was nominated by President Barack Obama to fill a vacancy on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Gayles is a judge for Florida's Eleventh Circuit Court, where he has served since 2010. Gayles earned his B.A. from Howard University in 1980 and his J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 1993.[3]
If nominated, Gayles would become the first openly gay black male to served on a federal court. The last openly gay black male nominated was William Thomas, whose nomination, also to the Southern District of Florida, was blocked by Senator Marco Rubio. Senator Rubio on the nominations:
The vacancy was created when Patricia Seitz took senior status on November 16, 2012. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida has three vacancies of its 18 posts. The vacancy warning level is set at yellow. |
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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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 White House, "President Obama Announces Intent to Nominate Cheryl Ann Krause to Serve on the United States Court of Appeals," February 5, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 White House, "President Obama Announces Intent to Nominate Four to Serve on the United States District Courts," February 5, 2014
- ↑ NPR.com, "Black Openly Gay Judge Would Be Federal Bench's First," February 5, 2014
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