Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 3/12/2014

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

March 12, 2014

By Courtney Collins

This week's Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from March 5, 2014 to March 11, 2014. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on March 12th will be reflected in the March 19th report.

The vacancy warning level remained at yellow this week after no new vacancies and four new confirmations. The vacancy percentage fell to 10.3%. There were no new nominations this week, which allowed the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation to fall to 56. 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	9.5% or 17 vacancies
District Courts	677	10.6% or 72 vacancies
All Judges	865	10.3% or 89 vacancies

New confirmations

Northern District of California

Vince Girdhari Chhabria

On March 5, 2014, Vince Girdhari Chhabria was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on a vote of 58-41. Chhabria leaves the San Francisco City Attorney's Office to join the federal court and it took 223 days for him to be confirmed. Chhabria's confirmation make him the first Indian American to serve on a federal court in the state of California and filled the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. On the confirmation: “ I am pleased the Senate has confirmed Vince Chhabria to serve as a federal judge for the Northern District. His dedication and extensive legal experience will make him a tremendous addition to the court. ” —Senator Barbara Boxer, The confirmation fills the vacancy that was created when Susan Illston took senior status in 2013. This confirmation removes the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The vacancy warning level fell from blue to green.

Western District of Arkansas

Timothy Brooks

On March 5, 2014, Timothy Brooks was confirmed by the Senate on a vote of 100-0. Brooks leaves a partnership at the firm of Taylor Law Partners, LLP and spent 271 days waiting for confirmation. On the confirmation of Brooks: “ Timothy Brooks has the experience, background and temperament to unanimously qualify him for the job. I am confident that he will do an excellent job in this role and make Arkansas proud of his service. ” —Senator John Boozman R-AZ, The confirmation fills the vacancy created by Jimm Hendren who took senior status on December 31, 2012. Brooks' confirmation removes the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. The vacancy warning level fell from orange to green.

Eastern District of Tennessee

Pamela L. Reeves

Pamela L. Reeves was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 99-0 on March 5, 2014. Reeves leaves a partnership at the law firm of Reeves, Herbert & Anderson, P.A. to join the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. She spent 293 days awaiting confirmation and becomes the first female to serve on Eastern District of Tennessee. On her confirmation and swearing in: “ I am honored to have been appointed by President Obama to this position. I am fortunate to be able to serve with all the excellent judges and magistrate judges in the Eastern District and to have such a great staff at the Court. I look forward to settling down to the business of the Court. ” —Pamela L. Reeves, The confirmation fills a vacancy created when Thomas W. Phillips took senior status on July 31, 2013. Reeves' confirmation removes the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. The vacancy warning level fell from yellow to green.

District of Puerto Rico

Pedro A. Delgado Hernández

On March 5, 2014, Pedro A. Delgado Hernández was confirmed by the Senate on a vote of 98-0. He leaves a partnership at O’Neill & Borges LLC to join the court. Hernández spent 252 days awaiting confirmation. Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner, on the confirmation: “ I am pleased that Pedro Delgado-Hernández has been confirmed as a federal district court judge. I am confident that Judge Delgado-Hernández will work tirelessly to dispense justice, based on the facts of the case at hand, and free from any prejudice. ” The vacancy was created when Daniel Dominguez took senior status on July 31, 2011. Hernández's confirmation removed the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. The vacancy warning level fell from yellow to green

Passings

Franklin Billings

On March 9, 2014, Franklin Billings passed away at the age of 91. Billings joined the United States District Court for the District of Vermont in 1984 after a nomination by President Ronald Reagan. He served as the court's chief judge from 1988 to 1991 and assumed senior status in 1994. Senator Frank Leahy, who spent part of his early career working with Billings, remembered Billings as "He is a man who always keeps his word," and to Billings wife "I told her if you look at everything a real Vermonter should be, it was Bill Billings." Franklin Billings was awarded a Purple Heart in 2010 for being wounded in World War II as a civilian ambulance driver. He held his B.S. from Harvard and his J.D. from the University of Vermont Law School. He also served in the Vermont House of Representatives and on the Supreme Court of Vermont. Billings is remembered by his wife, four children and eight grandchildren.

New vacancies

There were no new vacancies this week.

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.

See also

• United States federal courts

Footnotes