Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 5/14/2014

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

May 14, 2014

By Courtney Collins

This week's Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from May 7, 2014 to May 13, 2014. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on May 14th will be reflected in the May 21st report.

The vacancy warning level remained at blue this week after one new vacancy and four new confirmations. The vacancy percentage fell to 8.6%. There were two new nominations this week, which allowed the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation to fall to 39. The number of vacancies of Article III judges fell to 74 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	6.7% or 12 vacancies
District Courts	677	9.2% or 62 vacancies
All Judges	865	8.6% or 74 vacancies

New vacancies

Southern District of Florida

Robin Rosenbaum

Robin Rosenbaum was elevated to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals on May 12, 2014. For more on her confirmation see the new confirmation section below. Rosenbaum's confirmation creates a vacancy on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The vacancy warning level remains at yellow.

New confirmations

Eleventh Circuit

Robin Rosenbaum

The United States Senate confirmed Robin Rosenbaum on May 12, 2014, on a vote of 91-0. Rosenbaum was elevated to the Eleventh Circuit from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She also served as a federal magistrate judge for the Southern District of Florida from 2007 to 2012. Rosenbaum's confirmation removes the vacancy created when Rosemary Barkett left the circuit court in 2013. The vacancy warning level for the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit fell from orange to yellow.

District of Massachusetts

Indira Talwani

The United States Senate confirmed Indira Talwani to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on May 8, 2014, on a vote of 94-0. At the time of her confirmation Talwani was partner at the law firm of Segal Roitman LLP. Talwani earned her B.A. from Harvard and her J.D. from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California - Berkeley. “ Ms. Talwani has an impressive track record as a litigator, having represented clients in matters before the Massachusetts state trial courts and appeals courts as well as the district court to which she's been nominated, the federal courts of appeals and the United States Supreme Court. ” —Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Talwani fills a vacancy created by Mark Wolf, who took senior status in January of 2013. Her confirmation removes one of the vacancies on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The vacancy warning level fell from orange to yellow.

Western District of Wisconsin

James D. Peterson

James D. Peterson was confirmed to the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin by the United States Senate on May 8, 2014, by a vote of 70-24. Peterson leaves a position as an attorney at the law firm of Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. He holds B.S., M.A., Ph.D. and J.D. from the University of Wisconsin, earning the first three degrees from 1978 to 1986 and his law degree in 1998. Peterson's confirmation removes the vacancy created by John C. Shabaz, who took senior status in 2009. His confirmation removes the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The vacancy warning level fell from red to green.

Southern District of Illinois

Nancy J. Rosenstengel

The United States Senate confirmed Nancy J. Rosenstengel to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on May 8, 2014, on a vote of 95-0. Rosenstengel will leave her position as clerk of court for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois to become a federal judge for the same court. She earned her B.A. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne and her J.D. from the Southern Illinois University School of Law. “ Nancy Rosenstengel will make an exceptional judge in the Southern District. Her confirmation is also an historic one. No woman has ever served as an Article III federal judge in the Southern District of Illinois. I am sure she will do an outstanding job. ” Nancy J. Rosenstengel's confirmation fills a vacancy created when Patrick G. Murphy retired in December of 2013. Her confirmation removes a vacancy on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. The vacancy warning level fell from red to yellow.

New nominations

Fourth Circuit

Pamela Harris

President Barack Obama nominated Pamela Harris to fill a vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit on May 8, 2014. Harris is currently a Senior Advisor for the Supreme Court Institute at Georgetown University as well as Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. In total she has eight years of experience in academics, eleven years experience as an attorney and five years experience with the United States Department of Justice's Office of Legal Council and Policy. Harris clerked for Associate Justice John Paul Stevens and Judge Harry Edwards. She earned her B.A., summa cum laude, and her J.D. from Yale College in 1985 and 1990, respectively. President Obama on the nomination: “ Throughout her career, Pamela Harris has shown unwavering integrity and an outstanding commitment to public service. I am proud to nominate her to serve on the United States Court of Appeals. ” The vacancy was created when Andre Davis took senior status in February of 2014. The United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit currently has one vacancy and the warning level is blue.

Northern District of New York

Brenda K. Sannes

President Barack Obama nominated Brenda K. Sannes on May 8, 2014, to fill a vacancy on the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. Since 1995, Sannes has served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York. Her prior experience includes working as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California and an attorney for the law firm of Wyman, Bautzer, Christensen, Kuchel & Silvert. She was a law clerk for Judge Joseph Farris of the Ninth Circuit. Sannes earned her B.A., graduating magna cum laude, from Carleton College and earned her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. President Obama on the nomination: “ I am proud to nominate Brenda K. Sannes to serve on the United States District Court bench. She has a long and distinguished record of service, and I am confident she will serve on the federal bench with distinction. ” The vacancy was created when Norman Mordue took senior status in 2013. The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York currently has one vacancy and the warning level is set at yellow.

Weekly map

The weekly map is updated every week and posted here and on the Federal Court Vacancy Warning System analysis page.

See also

• United States federal courts

Footnotes