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Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 7/10/2013
July 10, 2013
- 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 vacancies and two new confirmations this past week, leaving the final tally at 82 vacancies or approximately 9.4% 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 | 9.6% or 17 vacancies |
| District Courts | 9.5% or 65 vacancies |
There are currently 9 Supreme Court posts, 179 appellate court posts and 681 district court posts for a total of 869 Article III judges. This count includes four temporary posts, one each in the District of Columbia, 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.
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New confirmations
Tenth Circuit
On July 8, 2013, the United States Senate confirmed Gregory Alan Phillips to an Article III post for the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit with a vote of 88-0.[1][2] Phillips was originally nominated on January 31, 2013, by President Barack Obama to the seat vacated by Terrence O'Brien. At the time of nomination, he was Wyoming’s Attorney General. Phillips was rated Unanimously Well Qualified by the American Bar Association. You can find his Committee Questionnaire available here and his Questions for the Record available here.[3] The confirmation fills one of three vacancies on the court of twelve, leaving the vacancy warning level unchanged at Yellow.
District of Nevada
On July 9, 2013, the United States Senate confirmed Jennifer Dorsey to an Article III post for the United States District Court for the District of Nevada with a vote of 54-41.[1][4] Dorsey was originally nominated on September 19, 2012, by President Barack Obama to the seat vacated by Larry Hicks. At the time of nomination, she was a partner at the law firm of Kemp, Jones & Coulthard LLP in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dorsey was rated Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Not Qualified by the American Bar Association. She had a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 24, 2013. You can find her Committee Questionnaire available here and her Questions for the Record available here.[3] The confirmation fills one of two vacancies on the court of seven, lowering the vacancy warning level from Orange to Yellow.
New vacancies
Third Circuit
On July 1, 2013, Judge Anthony Scirica assumed senior status for the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, where he had served for over 25 years.[5] Scirica was originally nominated by Ronald Reagan and joined the court on August 6, 1987. From 2003 until 2010 he served as Chief Judge. At the time of his nomination, he was a judge with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which he joined in 1984. Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, Scirica graduated from Wesleyan University with his bachelor's degree in 1962 and later received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1965. Scirica was a Fulbright Scholar at Central University in Caracas, Venezuela in 1966.[6] His transition to senior status creates the second vacancy on the court of fourteen, lowering the vacancy warning level from Blue to Yellow.
Western District of Oklahoma
On July 7, 2013, Judge David L. Russell assumed senior status for the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, where he had served for over 31 years.[7] Russell was originally nominated by Ronald Reagan and joined the court on December 17, 1981. From 1994 until 2001 he served as Chief Judge. At the time of his nomination, he was a U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. A native Oklahoman, Russell graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University with his bachelor's degree in 1963 and from University of Oklahoma Law School with his Juris Doctorate degree in 1965. Russell served in the US Navy JAG Corps from 1965 to 1971 in which he served from 1965 to 1968 on active duty during the Vietnam Conflict with the rest served on reserve duty.[8] His transition to senior status creates the first vacancy on the court of seven, lowering the vacancy warning level from Green to Yellow.
New nominations
There were no new nominations this past week.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 113th Congress Confirmations
- ↑ United States Periodic Press Gallery
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 113th Congress Nomination Materials
- ↑ United States Periodic Press Gallery
- ↑ Penn Law, "Federal Judge Anthony J. Scirica appointed to Penn Law faculty," 2/27/2013
- ↑ Judge Anthony Scirica Federal Judicial Center Biography
- ↑ U.S. Courts Current Vacancies
- ↑ Judge Russell's Biography from the Federal Judicial Center.
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