Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 4/16/2014
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April 16, 2014
This week's Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from April 9, 2014 to April 15, 2014. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on April 16th will be reflected in the April 23rd report.
The vacancy warning level remained at blue this week after one new vacancy and no new confirmations. The vacancy percentage rose to 9.9%. There were no new nominations this week, which allowed the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation to remain at 50. The number of vacancies of Article III judges rose to 86 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 | 8.4% or 15 vacancies |
| District Courts | 677 | 10.5% or 71 vacancies |
| All Judges | 865 | 9.9% or 86 vacancies |
New vacancies
Middle District of Georgia
Willie Sands
| On April 12, 2014, Willie Sands assumed senior status after just under 20 years on active service. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1994.[1] Sands' transition creates the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Leslie Joyce Abrams was nominated to fill the vacancy on March 11, 2014. The vacancy warning level rose from green to yellow. | 
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New confirmations
There were no new confirmations this week.
New nominations
There were no new nominations this week.
Article I nominations
Article I courts are not included in the Federal Court Vacancy Warning System and therefore do not affect the vacancy warning level.
Court of Federal Claims
Nancy B. Firestone
| Nancy B. Firestone was nominated to serve a second 15-year term on the United States Court of Federal Claims by President Barack Obama on April 10, 2014.[2] Firestone assumed senior status for the court after her first 15-year term expired in 2013. The United States Court of Federal Claims currently has six vacancies of its 16 posts. The vacancy warning level is currently set at orange. | 
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Lydia Kay Griggsby
| President Barack Obama nominated Lydia Kay Griggsby to fill a vacancy on the United States Court of Federal Claims on April 10, 2014. Griggsby is Chief Counsel for Privacy and Information Policy for the United States Senate Judiciary Committee.[2] She earned her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990 and her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1993. If confirmed, Griggsby would serve a 15-year term. The United States Court of Federal Claims currently has six vacancies of its 16 posts. The vacancy warning level is currently set at orange. |
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Thomas L. Halkowski
| Thomas L. Halkowski was nominated by President Barack Obama on April 10, 2014, to fill a vacancy on the United States Court of Federal Claims. Halkowski works at the Delaware office of Fish & Richardson, P.C. He earned his B.S. from the Marquette University, graduating cum laude in 1985 and his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School, graduating cum laude in 1989. He also holds an M.S. from the University of Florida, which he earned in 1986.[2] If confirmed, Halkowski would served a 15-year term. The United States Court of Federal Claims currently has six vacancies of its 16 posts. The vacancy warning level is currently set at orange. |
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Weekly map
The weekly map is updated every week and posted here and on the Federal Court Vacancy Warning System analysis page.
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See also
Footnotes
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