Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 2/27/2013
February 27, 2013
- For a District by District break down, see: Federal Court Vacancy Warning System
The vacancy warning level for the U.S. Federal courts is currently set at Blue. There was one new confirmation this past week, leaving the final tally at 86 vacancies or approximately 9.9% of the total Article III posts currently unfilled. 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 | 9.5% or 17 vacancies |
| District Courts | 10.1% or 69 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 two shared post between the two Missouri districts and the two Kentucky districts, which count 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
Tenth Circuit
On February 25, 2013, the United States Senate confirmed Robert Bacharach to an Article III post for the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit with vote of 93-0.[1][2] Bacharach was originally appointed on January 23, 2012, by Barack Obama to the seat vacated by Robert Henry. At the time of appointment, Bacharach was a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. He was rated Unanimously Well Qualified by the American Bar Association. He had a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 9, 2012, 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 twelve, leaving the vacancy warning level unchanged at Yellow.
New vacancies
There were no new vacancies over the past week.
New nominations
There were no new nominations made this past week.
Judicial passing
On Monday, February 25, 2013 it was announced that Judge Frank Polozola passed away while serving on senior status for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. Polozola first joined the court as an Article III judge in 1980. Prior to that, he had served as a magistrate judge in both part and full time capacities for 8 years. He assumed senior status in 2007 and was 60 years old at his passing.
Chief Judge Brian Jackson, who succeeded Polozola on the court, said:
| “ | He was an extraordinary jurist. He was devoted to the rule of law. He took very seriously his obligations under the constitution...On a personal level, he was a very caring and compassionate man. I think it's fair to say that here at the courthouse he was a father figure to all, and that we will all miss him greatly.[4] [5] | ” |
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 113th Congress Confirmations
- ↑ United States Periodic Press Gallery
- ↑ 112th Congress Nomination Materials
- ↑ The Advertiser, "U.S. District Judge Frank Polozola dies," February 25, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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