The Federal Vacancy Count 12/10/2014

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

December 10, 2014

By Courtney Collins

This week's Federal Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from December 3, 2014, to December 9, 2014. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on December 10th will be reflected in the December 17th report.

The federal judiciary continued the march towards a lower number of vacancies this week as there were five new confirmations.

The vacancy warning level remained at blue this week after no new vacancies, no new nominations and five new confirmations. The vacancy percentage fell to 6.1% and the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation fell to 26. The number of vacancies of Article III judges fell to 53 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	6.4% or 43 vacancies
International Trade	9	33.3% or 3 vacancies
All Judges	874	6.1% or 53 vacancies

New vacancies

There were no new vacancies this week.

New confirmations

Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Gerald J. Pappert

Gerald J. Pappert received confirmation to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on December 3, 2014, when the Senate approved the nomination by a voice vote. At the time of his confirmation, Pappert was a partner at the law firm of Cozen O'Conner. He earned his B.A. from Villanova University, graduating cum laude in 1985 and his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1988. Pappert's confirmation comes 170 days after his nomination and filled the vacancy created by Stewart Dalzell. The confirmation removes a vacancy from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The vacancy warning level fell from yellow to blue.

Joseph F. Leeson, Jr.

The United States Senate confirmed Joseph F. Leeson, Jr. on December 4, 2014, on a vote of 76-16. Lesson was a partner at the law firm of Leeson, Leeson & Leeson at the time of his confirmation. He earned his B.A. from DeSales University, graduating cum laude in 1977 and his J.D. from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in 1980. His confirmation came 171 days after his nomination and fills a vacancy created by Eduardo Robreno. The confirmation removes a vacancy from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The vacancy warning level fell from yellow to blue.

Mark A. Kearney

The United States Senate confirmed Mark A. Kearney to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on December 3, 2014, on a voice vote. At the time of his confirmation Kearney was a shareholder at the law firm of Elliot Greenleaf & Siedzikowski, P.C.. He earned his B.A. and J.D. from Villanova University in 1984 and 1987, respectively. Kearney's confirmation came 170 days after his nomination and fills the vacancy created by Curtis Joyner. The confirmation removes a vacancy from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The vacancy warning level fell from yellow to blue.

Western District of Kentucky

David J. Hale

The United States Senate confirmed David J. Hale to the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on December 3, 2014, by a voice vote. At the time of his confirmation, Hale was the United States attorney for same district to which he was appointed. He earned his B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1989 and his J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1992. Hale's confirmation comes 167 days after his nomination and fills the vacancy created by Charles Simpson. The confirmation removes one of the vacancies on the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The [[vacancy warning level fell from red to yellow.

Greg N. Stivers

Greg N. Stivers received confirmation to the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on December 4, 2014, by a voice vote. At the time of the confirmation, Stivers was a partner at the law firm of Kerrick Stivers Coyle, PLC. He earned his B.A. from Eastern Kentucky University in 1982 and his J.D. from the University of Kentucky School of Law in 1985. His confirmation comes 168 days after his nomination and fills the vacancy created by Thomas Russell. The confirmation removes one of the vacancies on the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The [[vacancy warning level fell from red to yellow.

New nominations

There were no new nominations this week.

Weekly map

The weekly map is updated every week and posted here and on the Federal Court Vacancy Warning System analysis page.

See also

• United States federal courts

Footnotes