Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 7/2/2014

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

July 2, 2014

By Courtney Collins

This week's Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from June 25, 2014 to July 1, 2014. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on July 2nd will be reflected in the July 9th report.

The turn of the month brought five new vacancies in the federal judiciary as judges for the Southern District of Indiana, Middle District of North Carolina, District of Connecticut and the United States Court of International Trade took senior status and Randall Rader of the Federal Circuit retired in the face of questions of impartiality. The nomination of four will help start the process to fill vacancies in Texas and the District of New Jersey.

The vacancy warning level remained at blue this week after four new vacancies and no new confirmations. The vacancy percentage rose to 7.1%. There were four new nominations this week, which allowed the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation to rise to 31. The number of vacancies of Article III judges rose to 61 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	6.1% or 11 vacancies
District Courts	677	7.4% or 50 vacancies
All Judges	865	7.1% or 61 vacancies

New vacancies

Court of International Trade

Donald Pogue

Donald Pogue assumed senior status on July 1, 2014, after 19 years on the United States Court of International Trade. Pogue was nominated by Bill Clinton in 1995 to fill the vacancy created by James Watson. He earned his bachelor's from Dartmouth College and J.D. and master's from Yale University. The transition creates the only vacancy on the United States Court of International Trade. The vacancy warning level rose from green to yellow.

District of Connecticut

Janet Arterton

Janet Arterton assumed senior status on July 1, 2014, after 19 years on the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Arterton received a nomination from then-President Bill Clinton in January of 1995 and received confirmation in March of the same year. Judge Arterton issued the order that promoted 14 firefighters after the Supreme Court ruled on Ricci v. DeStefano in 2009. Arterton earned her undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College and her J.D. from Northeastern University. The transition creates the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. The vacancy warning level rose from green to yellow.

Federal Circuit

Randall Rader

Randall Rader retired from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on June 30, 2014. His retirement came after questions of impartiality were raised after sending emails to an attorney that practiced before the court, praising his work. In a letter to his colleagues: “ I have come to realize that I have engaged in conduct that crossed lines established for the purpose of maintaining a judicial process whose integrity must remain beyond question. It is important to emphasize that I did not and would never compromise my impartiality in judging any case before me. But avoiding even the appearance of partiality is a vital interest of our courts, and I compromised that interest by transgressing limits on judges' interactions with attorneys who appear before the court. I was inexcusably careless, and I sincerely apologize. ” Rader was nominated by then-President George H.W. Bush in 1990 and was confirmed later that year. He earned his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University and his J.D. from George Washington University Law School. The transition creates the only vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The vacancy warning level rose from green to blue.

Middle District of North Carolina

James Beaty

On June 30, 2014, James Beaty assumed senior status after 19 years on the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Then-President Bill Clinton nominated Beaty to the court in 1994. Beaty earned his undergraduate degree from Western Carolina University and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law. The transition creates the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The vacancy warning level rose from greento yellow.

Southern District of Indiana

Sarah Barker

Sarah Barker, the first woman to serve on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, assumed senior status on June 30, 2014. Barker received a nomination from the-President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and served on active status for over 30 years. Barker earned her undergraduate degree from Indiana University and her J.D. from American University's Washington College of Law. The chief judge of the court: “ Judge Barker has long been a trailblazer in the legal community, from her initial appointment as the first woman Assistant United States Attorney, followed by becoming the first woman Federal Judge in Indiana, continuing to her current role as a member of the Court. In her thirty years as a district judge, she has bridged two judicial generations and provided valuable leadership and guidance to the bench and bar. We are very grateful for her continued service to the Court and the citizens of the Southern District of Indiana. ” —Hon. Richard Young, Chief Judge, Southern District of Indiana, The transition creates the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The vacancy warning level rose from green to yellow.

New confirmations

There were no new confirmations this week.

New nominations

President Barack Obama on the nomination of four to the United States District Courts:

“

Throughout their careers, these nominees have displayed unwavering commitment to justice and integrity. Their records of public service are distinguished and impressive and I am confident that they will serve the American people well from the United States District Court bench. I am honored to nominate them today.

”

District of New Jersey

Madeline Arleo

President Barack Obama nominated Madeline Arleo to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on June 26, 2014. The American Bar Association rated Arleo Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Arleo is currently a federal magistrate judge for the same court to which she received a nomination. She joined the court in 2000. Her pre-judicial experience includes 10 years as an attorney for various law firms and being a law clerk for Marie Garibaldi of the New Jersey Supreme Court. She earned her undergraduate degree and master's degree from Rutgers College and her J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law. If confirmed, Arleo will fill the vacancy created by Dennis Cavanaugh who took senior status in January of 2014. The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey currently has one vacancy and the warning level is set at blue.

Eastern District of Texas

Amos Mazzant

Amos Mazzant received a nomination from President Barack Obama to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on June 26, 2014. The American Bar Association rated Mazzant Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified for the nomination. Mazzant is a federal magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Texas, which he joined in 2009. His other judicial experience includes five years as a Justice for the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals. He has two years of experience working at various law firms. Mazzant clerked with Judges Don Bush and Paul N. Brown of the Eastern District of Texas. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree from University of Pittsburgh and from the University of Baylor with his J.D. If confirmed, he would fill a vacancy created by T. John Ward who retired in 2011. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas currently has two vacancies and the warning level is set at yellow.

Robert William Schroeder, III

Robert William Schroeder III received a nomination from President Barack Obama to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on June 26, 2014. The American Bar Association rated Schroeder Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Schroeder is currently a partner at the law firm of Patton, Tidwell, Schroeder & Culvertson, LLP. Prior to joining the law firm he worked as Counsel to the President for the Office of the White House Counsel. His clerkship was with Judge Richard Arnold of the Eighth Circuit. If confirmed he would fill the vacancy created by David Folsom who retired in 2012. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas currently has two vacancies and the warning level is set at yellow.

Western District of Texas

Robert Lee Pitman

On June 26, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated United States Attorney Robert Lee Pitman to the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, the same district he serves as a United States Attorney. The American Bar Association rated Pitman Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Prior to becoming a United States Attorney in 2011, Pitman was a federal magistrate judge for the Western District of Texas for one term of 8 years. For the 13 years prior to being a magistrate judge, he was an Assistant United States Attorney. His clerkship was with Judge David Belew of the Northern District of Texas. Pitman's education includes a undergraduate degree from Abilene Christian University, a J.D. from University of Texas at Austin and a Masters of Studies in Legal Research from the University of Oxford. If confirmed, he would fill a vacancy created when William Furgeson took senior status in November of 2008. The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas currently has one vacancy and the warning level is set at blue.

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