Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 8/28/2013
August 28, 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 Yellow. There were two new vacancies this past week, leaving the final tally at 91 vacancies or approximately 10.5 percent 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 percent or no vacancies |
| Appeals Courts | 9.5 percent or 17 vacancies |
| District Courts | 10.9 percent or 74 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
Eastern District of Arkansas
On August 22, 2013, Judge Susan Carter assumed senior status for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, where she had served for over 23 years.[1] Carter was originally nominated by George H.W. Bush and joined the court on January 24, 1990. She was Chief Judge of the court from 1998 until 2005. At the time of her nomination, she was a faculty member, University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law. Carter received her undergraduate degree from Randolph-Macon Women's College in 1970, a Master's in Public Affairs from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1973 and a J.D. in 1975.[2] Her transition to senior status creates the first vacancy on the court of five, raising the vacancy warning level from Green to Yellow.
Western District of Tennessee
On August 23, 2013, Judge Jon McCalla assumed senior status for the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, where he had served for over 21 years.[3] McCalla was originally nominated by George H.W. Bush and joined the court on February 10, 1992. He was Chief Judge of the court from 2008 until his transition to senior status. At the time of his nomination, he was a private practice attorney in Memphis, TN. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, McCalla graduated with his bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee in 1969. McCalla then served as an U.S. Army Lieutenant until 1971. McCalla went on to graduate from Vanderbilt Law School with his Juris Doctor degree in 1974.[4] His transition to senior status creates the first vacancy on the court of five, raising the vacancy warning level from Green to Yellow.
New nominations
There were no new nominations this past week.
See also
Footnotes
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