Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 7/17/2013
July 17, 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 was one new vacancy 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 | 9.6% or 17 vacancies |
| District Courts | 9.7% or 66 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
There were no new confirmations this past week.
New vacancies
District of Columbia
On July 15, 2013, Judge Royce Lamberth assumed senior status for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, where he had served for nearly 26 years.[1] Lamberth was originally nominated by Ronald Reagan and joined the court on November 13, 1987. From 2008 until his transition to senior status he served as Chief Judge. At the time of his nomination, he was an Assistant U.S. Attorney. Born in San Antonio, Texas, Lamberth graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with his bachelor's degree in 1965 and his law degree in 1967.[2] His transition to senior status creates the second vacancy on the court of sixteen, raising the vacancy warning level from Blue to Yellow.
New nominations
Superior Court of DC
On July 11, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated William W. Nooter to a fifteen year term as an Associate Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to fill the vacancy left by A. Franklin Burgess, Jr..[3] Obama commented on the nomination, stating:
| “ | I am pleased to nominate Judge William Ward Nooter to serve on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. I am confident he will serve with integrity and a steadfast commitment to justice.[4][5] | ” |
Nooter is currently a Magistrate Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He earned his B.A. from St. John’s College. He went on to earn his J.D., graduating with honors from the George Washington University Law School.[4] The post is an Article I post and consequentially does not factor into the vacancy count.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. Courts Current Vacancies
- ↑ Judge Royce Lambert FJC Bio
- ↑ "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate" 7/11/2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "President Obama Nominates Judge William Ward Nooter to Serve on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia" 7/11/2013
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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