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The Federal Vacancy Count 12/30/2015
From Ballotpedia
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December 30, 2015
This month's Federal Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from November 25, 2015, to December 29, 2015. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on December 30 or 31 will be reflected in the January 2016 report.
The vacancy warning level remained at blue this month after one vacancy and one new confirmation. The vacancy percentage remained at 7.6 percent, and the number of vacancies of Article III judges remained at 66 out of 874. There were four new nominations this month, raising the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation to 31. A breakdown of the vacancies at 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 | 5.6% or 10 vacancies |
| District Courts | 677 | 7.7% or 52 vacancies |
| International Trade | 9 | 44.4% or 4 vacancies |
| All Judges | 874 | 7.6% or 66 vacancies |
New vacancies
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
| Harry Pregerson is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco. Born in Los Angeles, California, Pregerson graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a bachelor's degree in 1947 and later graduated from California Boalt Hall School of Law with an LL.B. in 1950. Pregerson also served in the United States Marine Corps as a first lieutenant from 1944 to 1946. He joined the court in 1979 after being nominated by former President Jimmy Carter (D). When he assumed senior status on December 11, 2015, the vacancy warning level of the court changed from green to blue.[1] | 
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New confirmations
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
| Travis Randall McDonough is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. He earned his B.A. from Sewanee, the University of the South, in 1994 and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1997. McDonough was nominated to the court by President Barack Obama (D) on November 20, 2014. McDonough was nominated to fill the vacancy created by Curtis Collier, who took senior status on October 31, 2014. His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on December 7, 2015. McDonough's transition changed the court's vacancy warning level from yellow to green.[2][3] | 
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New nominations
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
| Paul Abrams is a magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of California. He received his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1979 and his J.D. from the University of California, Boalt Hall School of Law in 1983. President Barack Obama nominated Abrams to serve on the United States District Court for the Central District of California as an Article III federal judge on December 16, 2015. Abrams' nomination does not affect the court's vacancy warning, which remains at blue.[4][5] |
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U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
Suzanne Mitchell
| Suzanne Mitchell is a magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. On December 16, 2015, she was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as an Article III federal judge on the same court. Mitchell earned her B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University in 1990 and her J.D. with high honors from George Washington University Law School in 1996. Mitchell's nomination does not affect the court's vacancy warning, which remains at red.[4] | 
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Scott Palk
| Scott Palk is the assistant dean for students and assisting general counsel at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Palk earned his B.S. from Oklahoma State University in 1989 and his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1992. He was nominated to serve as an Article III federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma by President Barack Obama on December 16, 2015. Palk's nomination does not affect the court's vacancy warning, which remains at red.[4] |
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U.S. District Court for the District of Utah
| Ronald Russell is a shareholder at Parr Brown Gee & Loveless. He graduated with his bachelor's degree from Weber State College in 1980 and with his law degree from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in 1983. He was nominated for the position of Article III federal judge on the bench of the United States District Court for the District of Utah by President Barack Obama on December 16, 2015. Russell's nomination does not affect the court's vacancy warning, which remains at yellow.[4] | 
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Monthly map
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Pregerson, Harry," accessed December 14, 2015
- ↑ The White House, "President Obama Nominates Three to Serve on the United States District Courts," November 20, 2014
- ↑ Congress.gov, "PN18 — Travis Randall McDonough — The Judiciary," accessed December 9, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Whitehouse.gov, "President Obama Nominates Four to Serve on the United States District Courts," December 16, 2015
- ↑ United States Courts, "Judge Abrams biography," accessed November 15, 2010
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