Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 3/13/2013

March 13, 2013

By Joshua Meyer-Gutbrod

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 were two new confirmations this past week, leaving the final tally at 83 vacancies or approximately 9.6% 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	8.9% or 16 vacancies
District Courts	9.9% or 67 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.

New confirmations

Federal circuit

On March 11, 2013, the United States Senate confirmed Richard Gary Taranto to an Article III post for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit with vote of 91-0. Taranto was originally appointed on November 10, 2011, by Barack Obama to the seat vacated by Paul Michel. At the time of appointment, Taranto was a partner at the law firm of Farr & Taranto in Washington D.C.. He was rated Unanimously Well Qualified by the American Bar Association. He had a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 29, 2012, and you can find his Committee Questionnaire available here, his Questions for the Record available hereand his Renomination Questions for the Record available here. The confirmation fills one of three vacancies on the court of twelve, leaving the vacancy warning level unchanged at Yellow.

District of Nevada

On March 11, 2013, the United States Senate confirmed Andrew Gordon to an Article III post for the United States District Court for the District of Nevada with voice vote. Gordon was originally appointed on September 19, 2012 , by Barack Obama to the seat vacated by Kent Dawson. At the time of appointment, Gordon was a partner at the law firm of partner with the law firm of McDonald Carano Wilson LLP. He was rated Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified by the American Bar Association. He had a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on December 12, 2012, and you can find his Committee Questionnaire available here, his Questions for the Record available here and his Renomination Questions for the Record Available here. The confirmation fills one of three vacancies on the court of seven, lowering the vacancy warning level from Red to Orange.

New vacancies

There were no new vacancies this past week.

New nominations

There were no new nominations this past week.

Filibuster response

On March 6, 2013 President Obama responded to the Republican filibuster of the nominations of Caitlin Halligan to a post on United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The cloture vote, which occurred on the same day, failed to gain the necessary 60 votes, with the final tally arriving at 51-41. Halligan's original nomination on September 29, 2010 has been blocked by Republican Senators for over two years. These senators argue that as solicitor general of New York, Halligan advocated for judicial activism in holding gun manufacturers responsible for criminal acts committed with their guns. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, stated on the floor:

“

In short, Ms. Halligan’s record of advocacy and her activist view of the judiciary lead me to conclude that she would bring that activism to the court. Because of her record of activism, giving Ms. Halligan a lifetime appointment on the D.C. Circuit is a bridge too far.

”

Democratic Senators challenged this perspective with New York Senator Charles Schumer stating on the floor:

“

I challenge the other side to give me one instance where they disagree with something that Ms. Halligan stated as her own views as opposed to representing someone as a lawyer should. What’s going on is our colleagues want to keep the second-most important court in the land, the D.C. Circuit, vacant, because right now there are four vacancies and the majority of those on the court have been appointees of Republican presidents and, in fact, are very conservative.

”

Obamas own comments echo the sentiments of the Democratic senators. Obama stated:

“

Today’s vote continues the Republican pattern of obstruction. My judicial nominees wait more than three times as long on the Senate floor to receive a vote than my predecessor’s nominees. The effects of this obstruction take the heaviest toll on the D.C. Circuit, considered the Nation’s second-highest court, which now has only seven active judges and four vacancies. Until last month, for more than forty years, the court has always had at least eight active judges and as many as twelve. A majority of the Senate agrees that Ms. Halligan is exactly the kind of person who should serve on this court, and I urge Senate Republicans to allow the Senate to express its will and to confirm Ms. Halligan without further delay.

”

See also

• United States federal courts