Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 9/4/2013
September 4, 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 three new vacancies this week, leaving the final tally at 94 vacancies or approximately 10.9% 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 | 9.5% or 17 vacancies |
| District Courts | 11.3% or 77 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.
 |
New confirmations
There were no new confirmations this past week.
New vacancies
Northern District of Alabama
On August 31, 2013, Judge Charles Smith assumed senior status for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, where he served for over 17 years.[1] Smith was originally nominated by Bill Clinton and joined the court on December 26, 1995. At the time of his nomination, he was a Circuit Court judge for the 23rd Circuit Court of Alabama. Smith graduated from the University of Alabama with his undergraduate degree in 1966 and later received his master's degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1967. Smith received a J.D. degree from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1971.[2] His transition to senior status creates the second vacancy on the court of seven, the vacancy warning level remains at Yellow.
Eastern District of Pennsylvania
On September 1, 2013, Judge Eduardo Robreno assumed senior status for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where he served for over 21 years.[3] Robreno was originally nominated by George H.W. Bush and joined the court on June 26, 1992. At the time of his nomination, he was a private practice attorney, licensed in the state of Pennsylvania. Born in Cuba and turned American Citizen, Robreno graduated from Westfield State College with his bachelor's degree in 1967 and from the University of Massachusetts with his master's degree in 1969 before later graduating from Rutgers (New Jersey) University School of Law with his J.D. in 1978.[4] His transition to senior status creates the fifth vacancy on the court of twenty-two, the vacancy warning level remains at Yellow.
District of Arizona
On September 3, 2013, Judge Roslyn Silver assumed senior status for the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, where she served for over 18 years.[5] Silver was originally nominated by Bill Clinton and joined the court on October 7, 1994. She was Chief Judge of the court from 2011 until her transition to senior status. At the time of her nomination, she was the chief of the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney's Office. A native Arizonan, Silver graduated from the University of California-Santa Barbara with her bachelor's degree in 1968 and later graduated from the Arizona State University College of Law with her J.D. degree in 1971.[6] Her transition to senior status creates the sixth vacancy on the court of thirteen, raising the vacancy warning level from Orange to Red.
New nominations
There were no new nominations this past week.
See also
Footnotes
| |||||
