Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 6/25/2014
From Ballotpedia
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June 25, 2014
This week's Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from June 12, 2014 to June 24, 2014. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on June 25th will be reflected in the July 2nd report.
This week's vacancy count saw the conclusion of Geoffrey Crawford's rapid dash through the confirmation process, receiving confirmation only 35 days after his nomination. In Florida, vacancies continued to dry up as three new judges where confirmed. In Texas, on the other hand, the Southern District lost another judge, causing its vacancy warning level to rise to orange.
The vacancy warning level remained at blue this week after one new vacancy and four new confirmations. The vacancy percentage fell to 6.6%. There were two new nominations this week, which allowed the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation to fall to 26. The number of vacancies of Article III judges fell to 60 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 | 5.6% or 10 vacancies |
| District Courts | 677 | 6.9% or 47 vacancies |
| All Judges | 865 | 6.6% or 57 vacancies |
New vacancies
Southern District of Texas
Nancy Atlas
| On June 20, 2014, just shy of 19 years of service, Nancy Atlas assumed senior status. Atlas, a graduate of New York University Law school, was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1995 to join the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The transition creates the fifth vacancy on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The vacancy warning level rose from yellow to orange. | 
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New confirmations
District of Vermont
Geoffrey Crawford
| The United States Senate confirmed Geoffrey Crawford to the United States District Court for the District of Vermont on June 24, 2014, on a vote of 95-0.[1] Crawford leaves the Vermont Supreme Court, a position he was appointed to in 2013, to join the federal judiciary. His experience leading up to the confirmation also includes 11 years as a Vermont Superior Court judge and 21 years as an attorney for various law firms. He started his legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Albert Coffrin of the District of Vermont. Crawford earned his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, graduating cum laude from both.
Patrick Leahy on Crawford's speedy confirmation to his home state's District Court:
Crawford's confirmation came only 35 days after the nomination, making it one of the fastest confirmations in the past decade.[4] His confirmation fills the vacancy of William Sessions and removes the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of Vermont. The vacancy warning level fell from red to green. |
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Middle District of Florida
Carlos E. Mendoza
| Carlos E. Mendoza received confirmation to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on June 24, 2014, when the Senate voted 94-0.[5] Mendoza leaves the Florida 7th Circuit Court to join the federal judiciary. His other experience includes seven years as an attorney and eight years as a judge advocate for the United States Navy. He started his law career as a law clerk for the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson. His military experience includes six years as a Marine and eight years in the Navy. Mendoza earned his B.A. and J.D. from West Virginia University. His confirmation came 138 days after his nomination and it fills the vacancy created by John Antoon. Mendoza's confirmation along with Paul G. Byron's remove all the vacancies on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The vacancy warning level fell from yellow to green. |
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Paul G. Byron
| The United States Senate confirmed Paul G. Byron to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on June 24, 2014, on a vote of 94-0.[6] Byron leaves his position as a partner at the law firm of Overchuck & Byron, P.A. to join the federal judiciary. His past experience is diverse, ranging from a judge advocate to senior trial attorney for the former Yugoslavia. Byron was a law clerk for the Office of the Public Defender for Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He earned his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from Louisiana State University. His confirmation came 138 days after his nomination and he fills the vacancy created by James S. Moody. Byron's confirmation along with Carlos E. Mendoza's, remove all the vacancies on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The vacancy warning level fell from yellow to green. |
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Southern District of Florida
Beth Bloom
| The United States Senate confirmed Beth Bloom to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on June 24, 2014, by a vote of 95-0.[7] Bloom leaves the Florida 11th Circuit Court after four years to join the federal judiciary. Her other experience includes 18 years as a judge on the county and traffic magistrate level, 7 years as an attorney for the law firm of Floyd Pearson Richman Greer Weil Brumbaugh & Russomanno, P.A. She started as a law clerk for the law firms of Colson Hicks & Eidson and William P. Cagney, III, P.A. Bloom earned her B.S. from the University of Florida and her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law. Her confirmation came 138 days after her nomination and filled a vacancy created by Donald Graham, who took senior status in December of 2013. The confirmation removes one of three vacancies on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The vacancy warning level remains at yellow. | 
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New nominations
Western District of Kentucky
President Barack Obama on the nominations:
| “ | I am pleased to nominate these distinguished individuals to serve on the United States District Court bench. I am confident they will serve the American people with integrity and a steadfast commitment to justice.[8][3] | ” |
David J. Hale
| David J. Hale received a nomination from President Barack Obama to the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on June 19, 2014. Hale is a United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky and has served in this position since 2010. His other experience includes 14 years as an attorney a various law firms and four years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. He earned his B.A. from Vanderbilt University and his J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law.[8] He was nominated to fill the vacancy created by Charles Simpson. The United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky has three vacancies and the warning level is set at red. | 
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Greg N. Stivers
| Greg N. Stivers received a nomination by President Barack Obama on June 19, 2014, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Stivers is a partner at the law firm of Kerrick Stivers Coyle, PLC, where he has practiced law for his entire career. His experience focuses on civil litigation on both the state and federal level. He obtained a B.A. from Eastern Kentucky University and a J.D. from the University of Kentucky School of Law. He was nominated to fill a vacancy created by Thomas Russell, who took senior status in 2011. The United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky has three vacancies and the warning level is set at red. |
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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
- ↑ United States Senate, "On the Nomination (Confirmation Geoffrey W. Crawford, of Vermont, to be U.S. District Judge)," accessed June 25, 2014
- ↑ Burlington Free Press, "Senate unanimously confirms Crawford," June 24, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Burlington Free Press, "Leahy pushes through quick confirmation for Crawford," June 21, 2014
- ↑ United States Senate, "On the Nomination (Confirmation Carlos Eduardo Mendoza, of Florida, to be U.S. District Judge)," accessed June 24, 2014
- ↑ United States Senate, "On the Nomination (Confirmation Paul G. Byron, of Florida, to be U.S. District Judge)," accessed June 24, 2014
- ↑ United States Senate, "On the Nomination (Confirmation Beth Bloom, of Florida, to be U.S. District Judge)," accessed June 24, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The White House, "President Obama Announces Nominates Two to Serve on the United States District Courts," June 19, 2014
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