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Federal Vacancy Warning System: 2013

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


In 2013, President Barack Obama made 73 nominations to the federal courts: 14 to the Circuit Courts and 56 to the District Courts. The President also appointed 3 to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

The United States Senate confirmed 45 candidates in 2013. There were 10 Circuit Court, 33 District Court and 2 International Trade Court confirmations.

Total vacancies

At the start of 2013 there were 78 vacancies, or 9% of the federal seats. Over the course of the year that number rose to 91 vacancies, or 10.5% of the federal seats.[1][2]

Confirmations

In 2013, the United States Senate confirmed 10 Circuit Court judges, 33 District Court judges and 2 United States Court of International Trade judges for a total of 45 confirmations. The month with the most confirmations was May with 8 confirmations, and the month with the fewest was January with 0 confirmations.

In November 2013, after four candidates to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit were continually blocked by Senate Republicans who refused to support a cloture vote (a vote to end discussion) which required 60 votes, the Senate majority holding Democrats opted to changed the filibuster rules in response to the ongoing blocking of the nominees. Prior to the rule change it took 60 votes to end discussion on a candidate, after the rule change only simple majority of 51 votes is required to end debate on a nominee. Less than a month after the rule change three of the four nominees to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit where confirmed. For more on the filibuster changes read the November 20, 2013 and November 27, 2013 Federal Court, Empty Benches report.

Vacancy count by month

The numbers in the following summaries are calculated from the first and last of the month and do not directly line up with the first and last Federal Courts, Empty Benches of the same month.

December 2013

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 In December, President Barack Obama nominated 10 candidates to the federal courts. The United States Senate confirmed 2 circuit judges and 5 district judges for a total of 7 judges. Also in December, 5 new vacancies were created. There was a total change of +2. The Federal Vacancy Warning Level remained at yellow after starting the month at 10.8 percent and ending the month at 10.5%. Details of the changes that occurred in December 2013 can be found in the weekly reports.


Three vacancies and one confirmation that occurred in December were covered in the first report of 2014.

November 2013

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 In November, President Barack Obama nominated 4 candidates to the federal courts. The United States Senate confirmed 2 district judges in the month of November, and there were 2 new vacancies created in November. There was a total change of 0. The Federal Vacancy Warning Level remained at yellow after starting the month at 10.8 percent and ending the month at 10.8%. Details of the changes that occurred in November 2013 can be found in the weekly reports.


October 2013

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 In October, President Barack Obama nominated 0 candidates to the federal courts. The United States Senate confirmed 4 district court judges in the month of October, and there were 3 new vacancies created in October. There was a total change of +1. The Federal Vacancy Warning Level remained at yellow after starting the month at 10.9 percent and ending the month at 10.8%. Details of the changes that occurred in October 2013 can be found in the weekly reports.


September 2013

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 In September, President Barack Obama nominated 13 candidates to the federal courts. The United States Senate confirmed 1 circuit court judge and 2 district court judges for a total of 3 in the month of September. Also, there were 5 new vacancies created in September. There was a total change of -2. The Federal Vacancy Warning Level remained at yellow after starting the month at 10.6 percent and ending the month at 10.9%. Details of the changes that occurred in September 2013 can be found in the weekly reports.


August 2013

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 In August, President Barack Obama nominated 9 candidates to the federal courts. The United States Senate confirmed 1 circuit court judge in the month of August, and there were 7 new vacancies created in August. There was a total change of -6. The Federal Vacancy Warning Level rose to yellow after starting the month at 9.9 percent and ending the month at 10.6%. Details of the changes that occurred in August 2013 can be found in the weekly reports.


July 2013

ForwardBackVwlmap-July-2013.gif
 In July, President Barack Obama nominated 6 candidates to the federal courts and 1 candidate for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The United States Senate confirmed 1 circuit court judge and 1 district court judge for a total of 2 in the month of July. Also, there were 8 new vacancies created in July. There was a total change of -6. The Federal Vacancy Warning Level remained at blue after starting the month at 9.3 percent and ending the month at 9.9%. Details of the changes that occurred in July 2013 can be found in the weekly reports.


June 2013

ForwardBackVwlmap-June-2013.gif
 In June, President Barack Obama nominated 11 candidates to the federal courts. The United States Senate confirmed 4 district court judges in the month of June, and there were 5 new vacancies created in June. There was a total change of -1. The Federal Vacancy Warning Level remained at blue after starting the month at 9.1 percent and ending the month at 9.3%. Details of the changes that occurred in June 2013 can be found in the weekly reports.


May 2013

ForwardBackVwlmap-May-2013.gif
 In May, President Barack Obama nominated 12 candidates to the federal courts. The United States Senate confirmed 1 circuit court judge, 5 district court judges and 2 United States Court of International Trade judges for a total of 8 in the month of May. Also, there were 2 new vacancies created in May. There was a total change of +4. The Federal Vacancy Warning Level remained at blue after starting the month at 9.8 percent and ending the month at 9.1%. Details of the changes that occurred in May 2013 can be found in the weekly reports.


April 2013

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 In April, President Barack Obama nominated 1 candidate to the federal courts. The United States Senate confirmed 2 circuit court judges and 3 district court judges for a total of 5 in the month of April. Also, there were 5 new vacancies created in April. There was a total change of 0. The Federal Vacancy Warning Level remained at blue after starting the month at 9.8 percent and ending the month at 9.8%. Details of the changes that occurred in April 2013 can be found in the weekly reports.


March 2013

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 In March, President Barack Obama nominated 2 candidates to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The United States Senate confirmed 1 circuit court judge and 6 district court judges for a total of 7 in the month of March. Also, there were 4 new vacancies created in March. There was a total change of +3. The Federal Vacancy Warning Level fell to blue after starting the month at 10.2 percent and ending the month at 9.8%. Details of the changes that occurred in March 2013 can be found in the weekly reports.


February 2013

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 In February, President Barack Obama nominated 2 candidates to the federal courts. The United States Senate confirmed 2 circuit court judges in the month of February, and there were 3 new vacancies created in February. There was a total change of -1. The Federal Vacancy Warning Level remained at yellow after starting the month at 10.1 percent and ending the month at 10.2%. Details of the changes that occurred in February 2013 can be found in the weekly reports.


January 2013

ForwardBackVwlmap-January-2013.gif
 In January, President Barack Obama nominated 2 candidates to the federal courts. The United States Senate confirmed 0 judges in the month of January, and there were 8 new vacancies created in January. There was a total change of -8. The Federal Vacancy Warning Level rose to yellow after starting the month at 9.0 percent and ending the month at 10.1%. Details of the changes that occurred in January 2013 can be found in the weekly reports.


Nominated 2013

Judges on this tab were nominated for the federal courts in 2013; judges may have been confirmed in 2014.

December

There were ten nominations in December.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Eleanor L. Ross Northern District of Georgia 12/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Gregg Costa Fifth Circuit 12/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Hannah Lauck Eastern District of Virginia 12/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
James A. Soto District of Arizona 12/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Julie Carnes Eleventh Circuit 12/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Leigh Martin May Northern District of Georgia 12/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Leo Sorokin District of Massachusetts 12/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Mark Howard Cohen Northern District of Georgia 12/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Michael P. Boggs Northern District of Georgia 12/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Tanya S. Chutkan District of Columbia 12/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014

November

There were four nominations in November.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
James D. Peterson Western District of Wisconsin 11/7/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Nancy J. Rosenstengel Western District of Wisconsin 11/7/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Robin Rosenbaum Western District of Wisconsin 11/7/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Ronnie L. White Western District of Wisconsin 11/7/2013 Yes 1/6/2014

October

There were no judicial nominations in October.

September

There were thirteen nominations in September.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Cynthia A. Bashant District of Arizona 9/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
David Barron First Circuit 9/24/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Diane Humetewa District of Arizona 9/24/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Douglas Rayes District of Arizona 9/24/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
George Jarrod Hazel District of Maryland 9/25/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Indira Talwani District of Massachusetts 9/24/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
John Tuchi District of Arizona 9/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Jon Levy District of Maine 9/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Manish Shah Northern District of Illinois 9/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Mark G. Mastroianni District of Massachusetts 9/24/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Stanley Bastian Eastern District of Washington 9/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Steven Logan District of Arizona 9/19/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Theodore Chuang District of Arizona 9/25/2013 Yes 1/6/2014

August

There were nine nominations in August.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Christopher Reid Cooper District of Columbia 8/1/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Daniel D. Crabtree District of Kansas 8/1/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Edward G. Smith Eastern District of Pennsylvania 8/1/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Gerald Austin McHugh, Jr Eastern District of Pennsylvania 8/1/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
John B. Owens Ninth Circuit 8/1/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
M. Douglas Harpool Western District of Missouri 8/1/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Michelle T. Friedland Ninth Circuit 8/1/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Nancy Moritz Ninth Circuit 8/1/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Sheryl H. Lipman Western District of Tennessee 8/1/2013 Yes 1/6/2014

July

There were six nominations to federal courts and one nomination to Superior Court of the District of Columbia in July.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
James Moody Jr. Eastern District of Arkansas 7/25/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Judith Ellen Levy Eastern District of Michigan 7/25/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Laurie Michelson Eastern District of Michigan 7/25/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Linda V. Parker Eastern District of Michigan 7/25/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Matthew Frederick Leitman Eastern District of Michigan 7/25/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Vince Girdhari Chhabria Northern District of California 7/25/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
William W. Nooter Superior Court of the District of Columbia 7/11/2013 Yes 1/6/2014

June

There were eleven nominations in June.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Alison Renee Lee District of South Carolina 6/26/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Beth Labson Freeman Northern District of California 6/20/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Bruce Hendricks District of South Carolina 6/20/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Cornelia T. L. Pillard District of Columbia Circuit 6/4/2013 12/12/2013 191 Days
James Donato Northern District of California 6/20/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Jeffrey Meyer District of Connecticut 6/7/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Jennifer May-Parker Eastern District of North Carolina 6/20/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Pedro A. Delgado Hernández District of Puerto Rico 6/26/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Robert Leon Wilkins District of Columbia Circuit 6/4/2013 1/13/2014 Yes 1/6/2014 223 days
Timothy Brooks Western District of Arkansas 6/7/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Patricia Ann Millett District of Columbia Circuit 6/4/2013 12/10/2013 189 days

May

There were twelve nominations in May.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Andrea R. Wood Northern District of Illinois 5/6/2013 10/14/2013 161 days
Brian Morris District of Montana 5/23/2013 12/12/2013 203 days
Carolyn McHugh Tenth Circuit 5/16/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Colin Stirling Bruce Central District of Illinois 5/6/2013 10/7/2013 154 days
Debra M. Brown Northern District of Mississippi 5/16/2013 11/4/2013 172 days
Elizabeth A. Wolford Western District of New York 5/16/2013 12/12/2013 210 days
Landya McCafferty District of New Hampshire 5/23/2013 12/12/2013 203 days
Madeline Haikala Northern District of Alabama 5/9/2013 10/14/2013 158 days
Pamela L. Reeves Eastern District of Tennessee 5/16/2013 Yes 1/6/2014
Sara Lee Ellis Northern District of Illinois 5/6/2013 10/7/2013 154 days
Susan P. Watters District of Montana 5/23/2013 12/12/2013 203 days

April

There was one nomination in April.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Vernon Broderick Southern District of New York 4/5/2013 9/9/2013 147 days

March

There were two nominations to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in March.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Michael Kenny O'Keefe Superior Court of the District of Columbia 3/19/2013 5/22/2013 64 days
Robert Okun Superior Court of the District of Columbia 3/19/2013 5/22/2013 64 days

February

There were two nominations in February.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Raymond Chen Federal Circuit 2/7/2013 8/1/2013 175 days
Todd Hughes Federal Circuit 2/7/2013 9/24/2013 229 days

January

There were two nominations in January.

Name Court Date nominated Date confirmed Nomination returned Renominated Time between nomination and confirmation
Gregory Alan Phillips Tenth Circuit 1/31/2013 7/8/2013 158 days
Jane Kelly Eighth Circuit 1/31/2013 4/24/2013 83 days

Nominations returned to the President

Nominations returned to the President

The United States Senate returned all but one of the 56 standing nominees in 2013. The one holdover was Robert Leon Wilkins, nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Nominations withdrawn

March

Caitlin J. Halligan to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Nomination withdrawn: 3/22/2013

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.[3]

Elissa Cadish to the United States District Court for the District of Nevada

Nomination withdrawn 3/13/2013

Cadish lost support due to a response about the Second Amendment, where she stated, "I do not believe that there is this constitutional right. I will enforce the laws as they exist as a judge." This response produced opposition from the NRA and Nevada Senator Dean Heller, who said:

“ I believe an individual citizen has the constitutional right to keep and bear arms and cannot in good conscience support a nominee whose commitment to the Constitution's Second Amendment is in doubt. This has been an unfortunate situation from the very beginning and I wish Judge Cadish well in her future endeavors. I look forward to working with Senator Reid so that we can avoid similar situations and move swiftly to confirm future nominees.[4][5] ”

Cadish withdrew her nomination on March 13, 2013, in a letter to her home state Senators she wrote, "By withdrawing my nomination, I am hopeful that there will be a speedy nomination and confirmation process for a new candidate in order to get that court up to its full complement of judges to the benefit of all citizens of Nevada."[4]

  1. ↑ UScourts.gov, "Article III Vacancies -- As of 01/01/2014," accessed February 4, 2014
  2. ↑ UScourts.gov, "Article III Vacancies -- As of 01/01/2013," accessed February 4, 2014
  3. ↑ Huff Post Politics, "Caitlin Halligan, Appeals Court Nominee, Blocked By GOP Amid Opposition From Gun Industry," March 6, 2013
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Huffington Post, "Elissa Cadish Nomination For Federal Judge Withdrawn Amid Impasse," March 8, 2013
  5. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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