Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 7/23/2014

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

July 23, 2014

By Courtney Collins

This week's Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from July 16, 2014, to July 22, 2014. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on July 23rd will be reflected in the July 30th report.

This week saw the confirmation of Ronnie L. White to the Eastern District of Missouri. His confirmation is of note due to the fact that his nomination to the same court was blocked in the 1990s. Julie Carnes was elevated from the Northern District of Georgia to the Eleventh Circuit. The Middle District of Louisiana, the Southern District of Florida and the Central District of California gained a judge each with the confirmation of John W. deGravelles, Robin L. Rosenberg and André Birotte, Jr.

The vacancy warning level remained at blue this week after one new vacancy and five new confirmations. The vacancy percentage fell to 6.5%. There were no new nominations this week, which allowed the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation to fall to 24. The number of vacancies of Article III judges fell to 57 out of 874. 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	5.0% or 9 vacancies
District Courts	677	6.9% or 47 vacancies
International Trade	9	11.1% or 1 vacancy
All Judges	874	6.5% or 57 vacancies

New vacancies

Northern District of Georgia

Julie Carnes

Julie Carnes received confirmation to become a federal judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on July 21, 2014. See the section below for more on her confirmation. The transition created a fourth vacancy on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The vacancy warning level remains at orange.

New confirmations

Eleventh Circuit

Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) spoke on the senate floor about Julie Carnes' confirmation.

Julie Carnes

The United States Senate confirmed Julie Carnes on July 21, 2014, by a vote of 94-0. Carnes was elevated from the Northern District of Georgia after 22 years of service. She received her nomination to the Eleventh Circuit from President Barack Obama on December 19, 2013. Julie Carnes, on her confirmation: “ I feel very honored and appreciative for the confidence that the Senate has shown with its vote to confirm me. I remain very grateful to President Obama for nominating me to the Eleventh Circuit, and I cannot express how much the support of Georgia's two senators, Senator Chambliss and Senator Isakson, means to me. I was particularly touched that they spoke so glowingly and warmly about my father. He would have been so proud and excited to watch the senators cast their votes for his daughter. ... I really miss him today. ” Carnes' confirmation came 214 days after her nomination and filled the vacancy created by James L. Edmondson, who took senior status in 2012. The confirmation removes one of the three vacancies on United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. The vacancy warning level remains at yellow.

Central District of California

André Birotte, Jr.

André Birotte, Jr. received confirmation from the United States Senate to the United States District Court for the Central District of California on July 22, 2014, on a vote of 100-0. Birrote will remain in the Central District of California as he leaves his position as United States District Attorney to join the federal judiciary. His experience includes nine years as an Assistant Inspector General and Inspector General for the Los Angeles Police Commission. He has seven years experience in the United States Attorney's Office and three years as an attorney. His career started with clerkships with Kohrs & Fiske and Bross, Strikland, Cary & Grossman. Birotte holds a B.S. from Tufts University and a J.D. from Pepperdine University Law School. His confirmation comes 111 days after his nomination and fills the vacancy of Gary Feess, who took senior status in March of this year. The confirmation removes the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The vacancy warning level fell from blue to green.

Southern District of Florida

Robin L. Rosenberg

The United States Senate confirmed Robin L. Rosenberg to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on July 22, 2014, on a vote of 100-0. Rosenberg leaves a position as a judge for the Florida 15th Circuit Court, where she served for seven years. She has 26 years of experience as an attorney for various law firms, the United States Department of Justice and Slim-Fast Foods Company. She began her career as a Law Clerk for the Hon. James Paine of the Southern District of Florida. Rosenberg holds an A.B. from Princeton University and an M.A. and J.D. from Duke University. Her confirmation comes 146 days after her nomination and fills the vacancy of Adalberto Jordan, who was elevated to the Eleventh Circuit. The confirmation removes one of the two vacancies on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The vacancy warning level fell from yellow to blue

Middle District of Louisiana

John W. deGravelles

John W. deGravelles received confirmation from the United States Senate to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana on July 22, 2014, on a vote of 100-0. DeGravelles leaves a partnership with Palmintier, Holthaus & Frugé LLP. He also leaves the private practice of John W. deGravelles Law, L.L.C. DeGravelles his entire career as an attorney; he also taught law at the Louisiana State University's Paul M. Herbert Law Center and Tulane University Law School. DeGravelles holds both his B.A. and J.D. from Louisiana State University. His confirmation comes 131 days after his nomination and fills the vacancy created by James J. Brady, who took senior status on December 31, 2013. The confirmation removes the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. The vacancy warning level fell from orange to green.

Eastern District of Missouri

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) spoke on Ronnie L. White's confirmation.

Ronnie L. White

Ronnie L. White received confirmation to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on July 16, 2014, on a vote of 53-44. White leaves his partnership at the law firm of Holloran White Schwartz & Gaertner LLP. This was not the first time White was nominated to the Eastern District of Missouri. His first nomination came in the 1990s from President Bill Clinton. That nomination was blocked by then-Senator John Ashcroft, who claimed White was too soft on crime. Since his first nomination, White has served as an Adjunct Professor for the Washington University School of Law and as a Justice for the Missouri Supreme Court. His education includes a B.A. from St. Louis University and a J.D. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. His confirmation comes 251 days after his nomination and fills the vacancy of Jean C. Hamilton, who took senior status in July of 2013. The confirmation removed the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The vacancy warning level fell from yellow to green.

New nominations

There were no new nominations this week.

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