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Federal Vacancy Warning System: 2012

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


In 2012, President Barack Obama nominated 47 judges to the federal courts: 6 to the Court of Appeals, 37 to the District Court, and 3 to special jurisdiction courts. Additionally, President Obama nominated 1 to the District of Columbia Courts.

That year, the United States Senate confirmed 5 Circuit Court judges and 44 District Court judges.[1]

Total vacancies

At the beginning of 2012, there were 82 total vacancies across the federal courts, the equivalent of 9.4%. That number decreased over the course of the year, with the final count showing 77 vacancies at 8.8.%.[2][3]

Confirmations

In 2012, the Senate confirmed 5 Circuit Court judges and 44 District Court judges. No judges were confirmed in the months leading up to the election, October and November, but following that the lowest month for confirmations was August, with only one judge confirmed. [1]

In June 2012, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he would invoke The Thurmond Rule for appellate court judges. The rule refers to a policy set by former Senator Strom Thurmond, which says that during a presidential election year, no judicial nominees would be confirmed without the cooperation of leaders from both parties and the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.[4][5]

Indeed, after June 12, no Circuit Court judges were confirmed by the Senate. There were still 20 district court judges confirmed from July through December, though the majority (13) were confirmed on a voice vote in December after the election.[1]

Vacancy Count by month

The weekly Vacancy Count tracks nominations for Article III posts only. This yearly overview also follows the nominations of judges to Article I courts and District of Columbia courts. For that reason, the number of judges nominated will vary between the Vacancy Count and total nominees.

December 2012

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 In December 2012, there were 0 nominations, 15 confirmations and 2 vacancies created. The Vacancy Warning Level remained at Blue throughout the month, with vacancies at 9.2 percent at the beginning and 8.1 percent at the end.

For a more in-depth look at December 2012, please see the weekly reports.

November 2012

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 In November 2012, there were 9 nominations, 0 confirmations and 2 vacancies created. The Vacancy Warning Level remained at Blue throughout the month, with vacancies staying at 9.3 percent through the month.


For a more in-depth look at November 2012, please see the weekly reports.

October 2012

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 In October 2012, there were 0 nominations, 0 confirmations and 6 vacancies created. The Vacancy Warning Level remained at Blue throughout the month, starting with vacancies at 8.6 percent and rising to 9.3 percent at the end of the month.

For a more in-depth look at October 2012, please see the weekly reports.

September 2012

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 In September 2012, there were 6 nominations, 3 confirmations and 2 vacancies created. The Vacancy Warning Level remained at Blue throughout the month, with vacancies starting at 8.8 percent and falling to 8.5 percent of the end of the month.

For a more in-depth look at September 2012, please see the weekly reports.

August 2012

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 In August 2012, there was 1 nomination, 1 confirmation and 2 vacancies created. The Vacancy Warning Level remained at Blue throughout the month, with vacancies starting at 8.8 percent and falling to 8.6%.

For a more in-depth look at August 2012, please see the weekly reports.

July

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 In July 2012, there were 7 nominations, 3 confirmations and 6 vacancies created. The Vacancy Warning Level remained at Blue throughout the month, with vacancies starting at 8.4 percent and rising slightly to 8.5%.

For a more in-depth look at July 2012, please see the weekly reports.

June 2012

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 In June 2012, there were 7 nominations, 5 confirmations and 6 vacancies created. The Vacancy Warning Level remained at Blue throughout the month, with vacancies starting at 7.9 percent and rising slightly to 8.2%.

For a more in-depth look at June 2012, please see the weekly reports.

May

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 In May 2012, there were 5 nominations, 6 confirmations and 1 vacancy created. The Vacancy Warning Level remained at Blue throughout the month, with vacancies starting at 8.6 percent and ending at 8.1%.

For a more in-depth look at May 2012, please see the weekly reports.

April 2012

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 In April 2012, there were 3 nominations, 4 confirmations and 3 vacancies created. The Vacancy Warning Level remained at Blue throughout the month, with vacancies starting at 9.1 percent and falling slightly to 8.9%.

For a more in-depth look at April 2012, please see the weekly reports.

March 2012

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 In March 2012, there were 0 nominations, 9 confirmations and 5 vacancies created. The Vacancy Warning Level remained at Blue throughout the month, with vacancies starting at 9.3 percent and falling slightly to 9.2%.

For a more in-depth look at March 2012, please see the weekly reports.

February 2012

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 In February 2012, there were 6 nominations, 4 confirmations and 3 vacancies created. The Vacancy Warning Level remained at Blue throughout the month, with vacancies starting at 9.4 percent and falling slightly to 9.3%.

For a more in-depth look at February 2012, please see the weekly reports.

January 2012

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 In January 2012, there was 1 nomination, 1 confirmation and 6 vacancies created. The Vacancy Warning Level remained at Blue throughout the month, with vacancies starting and ending at 9.4%.

For a more in-depth look at January 2012, please see the weekly reports.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Judicial Nominations and Confirmations: 112th Congress
  2. ↑ United States Courts, Archive of Judicial Vacancies: As of 1/1/2012
  3. ↑ United States Courts, Archive of Judicial Vacancies: As of 1/1/2013
  4. ↑ The Washington Post, "Judicial nominees: Beware the Thurmond Rule," February 3, 2012
  5. ↑ The New York Times, The Opinion Pages: "The Thurmond Rule," June 15, 2012


Nominated in 2012

Judges on this tab were nominated for the federal courts in 2012; nominees may have been confirmed in later years.

The average amount of time it took for judges nominated in 2012 to be confirmed was 245 days.

December

There were no judicial nominations in December 2012.

November

Twelve nominations were announced in November 2012.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Nitza I. Quinones Alejandro Eastern District of Pennsylvania 11/27/2012 6/13/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 198 days
Felipe Restrepo Eastern District of Pennsylvania 11/27/2012 6/17/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 202 days
Jeffrey L. Schmehl Eastern District of Pennsylvania 11/27/2012 6/13/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 198 days
Valerie Caproni Southern District of New York 11/15/2012 9/9/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 298 days
Kenneth John Gonzales District of New Mexico 11/15/2012 6/17/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 214 days
Raymond P. Moore District of Colorado 11/15/2012 3/23/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 128 days
Beverly Reid O'Connell Central District of California 11/15/2012 4/11/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 147 days
William Thomas Southern District of Florida 11/15/2012 Yes 1/4/2013
Analisa Torres Southern District of New York 11/15/2012 4/18/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 154 days
Derrick Kahala Watson District of Hawaii 11/15/2012 4/18/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 154 days
William Greenberg United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims 11/15/2012 12/28/2012 43 days
Claire R. Kelly United States Court of International Trade 11/14/2012 5/23/2013 190 days

October

There were no judicial nominations in October 2012.

September

Six nominations were announced in September 2012.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Ketanji Brown Jackson United States District Court for the District of Columbia 9/20/2012 3/23/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 184 days
Nelson S. Roman Southern District of New York 9/20/2012 5/9/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 231 days
Jennifer Dorsey District of Nevada 9/19/2012 7/9/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 293 days
Andrew Gordon District of Nevada 9/19/2012 3/11/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 173 days
Michael McShane District of Oregon 9/19/2012 5/20/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 243 days
Caitlin J. Halligan District of Columbia Circuit 9/19/2012 DefeatedA Yes 1/4/2013 DefeatedA

August

One nomination was announced in August 2012.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Pamela Ki Mai Chen Eastern District of New York 8/2/2012 3/4/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 214 days

July

One nomination was announced in July 2012.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Mark A. Barnett Court of International Trade 7/12/2012 5/23/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 315 days

June

Eight judicial nominations were announced in June 2012.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Sheri Chappell Middle District of Florida 6/25/2012 5/20/2012 Yes 1/4/2013 329 days
Katherine Failla Southern District of New York 6/25/2012 3/4/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 251 days
Troy L. Nunley Eastern District of California 6/25/2012 3/23/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 271 days
Caitlin Halligan District of Columbia Circuit 6/11/2012 DefeatedA Yes 1/4/2012 DefeatedA
Jon S. Tigar Eastern District of California 6/11/2012 12/21/2012 193 days
Kimberley S. Knowles District of Columbia Superior Court 6/11/2012 8/2/2012 52 days
Srikanth Srinivasan District of Columbia Circuit 6/11/2012 5/23/2012 Yes 1/4/2013 346 days
William Orrick III Northern District of California 6/11/2012 5/15/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 337 days

May

Five nominations were announced in May 2012.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Thomas M. Durkin Northern District of Illinois 5/21/2012 12/17/2012 210 days
Matthew Brann Middle District of Pennsylvania 5/17/2012 12/21/2012 218 days
Malachy Mannion Middle District of Pennsylvania 5/17/2012 12/21/2012 218 days
Frank P. Geraci, Jr. Western District of New York 5/14/2012 12/13/2012 213 days
Fernando Olguin Central District of California 5/14/2012 12/17/2012 217 days

April

Four nominations were announced in April 2012.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Terrence Berg Eastern District of Michigan 4/25/2012 12/6/2012 225 days
Jesus Bernal Central District of California 4/25/2012 12/11/2012 230 days
Shelly Deckert Dick Middle District of Louisiana 4/25/2012 5/9/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 379 days
Lorna Schofield Southern District of New York 4/25/2012 12/13/2012 232 days

March

There were no judicial nominations in March 2012.

February

Eight nominations were announced in February 2012.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Brian J. Davis Middle District of Florida 2/29/2012 December 20, 2013 Yes 1/4/2013 660 days
John Dowdell Northern District of Oklahoma 2/29/2012 12/11/2012 286 days
Jill Pryor Eleventh Circuit 2/16/2012
Elissa Cadish District of Nevada 2/16/2012 DefeatedA Yes 1/4/2013 DefeatedA
Paul Grimm District of Maryland 2/16/2012 12/3/2012 291 days
Mark E. Walker Northern District of Florida 2/16/2012 12/6/2012 294 days
Stephanie Rose Southern District of Iowa 2/2/2012 9/10/2012 221 days
Michael Shea District of Connecticut 2/2/2012 12/5/2012 307 days

January

There were three judicial nominees in 2012.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
William Kayatta First Circuit 1/23/2012 2/13/2013 Yes 1/4/2013 387 days
Robert Bacharach Tenth Circuit 1/23/2012 2/25/2013 399 days
Michael Shipp District of New Jersey 1/23/2012 7/23/2012 182 days

Nominations returned to President

In 2012, the following judges were nominated, or renominated, and those nominations were returned to the President by the United States Congress. All nominations that were submitted and returned to the President are included in this list.

Nominations returned to president

At the end of 2012, all unconfirmed nominees were returned to the President. This is customary at the end of a session of Congress.

The sixteen nominations returned were:

Thomas was nominated to the court in November 2012. As of September 2013, Senator Marco Rubio still had not returned the blue slip to support the nomination. His spokesperson said that the Senator had concerns about the nominee: "Those concerns include questions about his judicial temperament and his willingness to impose appropriate criminal sentences."[1]
Without the support of both home states senators, the Senate Judiciary Committee will not schedule a hearing on the nomination.
Halligan was originally nominated to the District of Columbia Circuit in September 2010. In December of 2011, following a renomination in January 2011, the nomination was the object of a filibuster on the Senate floor. In March 2013, President Obama withdrew Halligan's nomination per her request.
Opposition to Halligan's nomination came from Senate Republicans, who considered the nominee too liberal for the District of Columbia Circuit Court. Opponents pointed to her work on lawsuits regarding gun manufacturers and illegal immigrants as evidence. In addition to Halligan's specific nomination, at the time there was significant opposition to filling any of the four vacancies on the D.C. Circuit. This revolved around the disagreement over the necessary number of seats by caseload, in addition to the difficulty of finding politically agreeable members for the court, which hears mostly appeals regarding federal agencies and constitutional challenges.[2]
  1. ↑ The New York Times, "Rubio Withdraws Support for Gay Black Judge's Nomination to the Federal Bench," September 23, 2013
  2. ↑ Huff Post Politics, "Caitlin Halligan, Appeals Court Nominee, Blocked By GOP Amid Opposition From Gun Industry," March 6, 2013
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