The Federal Vacancy Count 1/7/2015
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January 7, 2015
This week's Federal Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from December 17, 2014, to January 6, 2015. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on January 7th will be reflected in the January 14th report.
Over the last few weeks, two new vacancies were created and the nomination of Michael P. Boggs was withdrawn.[1] The rest of the nominees have been returned to the president to be renominated as the 114th Congress convenes.
The vacancy warning level remained at blue this week after two new vacancies, no new nominations and no new confirmations. The vacancy percentage rose to 5.0%, and the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation is currently 0, while awaiting re-nominations from President Barack Obama. The number of vacancies of Article III judges rose to 44 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 | 3.9% or 7 vacancies |
| District Courts | 677 | 5.0% or 34 vacancies |
| International Trade | 9 | 33.3% or 3 vacancies |
| All Judges | 874 | 5.0% or 44 vacancies |
New vacancies
Northern District of Texas
Sam Cummings
| Sam Cummings assumed senior status for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on December 31, 2014. Cummings joined the court in 1987 after a nomination from President Ronald Reagan. He earned his undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University and his J.D. from Baylor University.[2][3] The transition creates a second vacancy on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The vacancy warning level rose from blue to yellow. | 
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Western District of New York
Richard Arcara
| Richard Arcara transitioned to senior status for the United States District Court for the Western District of New York on January 1, 2015. He served as the chief judge from 2003 until 2010. Arcara was appointed to the court in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. Arcara earned his undergraduate degree from St. Bonaventure and his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law in 1965.[4][5] The transition created a vacancy on the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. The vacancy warning level rose from green to yellow. |
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New confirmations
There were no new confirmations in the past weeks.
New nominations
The 13 nominees still awaiting confirmation were returned to President Barack Obama at the end of the year.
Northern District of Georgia
Michael P. Boggs
| Of the 13, Michael P. Boggs is the only nominee whose nomination is known to be withdrawn. Boggs was first nominated in December 2013 and renominated in 2014. After it was released that Boggs had voted to keep the "Stars and Bars" on the Georgia state flag in 1996, opposition arose around his nomination. Democratic proponents and progressive leaning organizations strongly urged the nomination be withdrawn.[1] Boggs' nomination ultimately died while awaiting approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss confirmed that Boggs would not be renominated.[1] | 
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Weekly map
The weekly map is updated every week and posted here and on the Federal Court Vacancy Warning System analysis page.
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Huffington Post, "It's Official: Obama Won't Renominate Michael Boggs," December 31, 2014
- ↑ United States Courts, "Current Federal Vacancies," accessed January 5, 2015
- ↑ Sam Cummings' Biography from the Federal Judicial Center.
- ↑ Richard Arcara's biography at the Federal Judicial Center
- ↑ United States Courts, "Current Judicial Vacancies," accessed January 5, 2015
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