The Federal Vacancy Count 3/11/2015
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March 11, 2015
This week's Federal Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from March 4, 2015, to March 10, 2015. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on March 11 will be reflected in the March 18 report.
Vacancies continued to rise this week after four judges either assumed senior status or retired from their respective courts.[1] The Western District of New York became the first district over 40 percent vacant since the Western District of Kentucky fell below 40 percent vacant in December 2014.
The vacancy warning level remained at blue this week after four new vacancies, no new nominations and no new confirmations. The vacancy percentage rose to 6.3 percent, and the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation remained at 15. The number of vacancies of Article III judges rose to 55 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 | 4.5% or 8 vacancies |
| District Courts | 677 | 6.3% or 43 vacancies |
| International Trade | 9 | 44.4% or 4 vacancies |
| All Judges | 874 | 6.3% or 55 vacancies |
New vacancies
Eastern District of Texas
Richard Schell
| Richard Schell assumed senior status on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on March 10, 2015.[1] Schell was nominated to the court by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. He earned his undergraduate and J.D. degrees from Southern Methodist University in 1972 and 1975.
The transition creates the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The vacancy warning level rose from green to yellow. |
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District of New Jersey
Faith Hochberg
| Faith Hochberg retired from the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on March 6, 2015.[1] Hochberg was appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1999. Hochberg earned her undergraduate degree from Tufts University in 1972 and her J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1975.
The retirement created the third vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. The vacancy warning level remained at yellow. |
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Western District of Louisiana
Richard Haik
| On March 6, 2015, Richard Haik assumed senior status on the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.[1] Haik was appointed to the court by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. He served as chief judge of the Western District of Louisiana from 2002 to 2009. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Southwest Louisiana in 1971 and his J.D. from the Loyola University New Orleans School of Law in 1975.
The transition creates the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. The vacancy warning level rose from green to yellow. |
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Western District of New York
William Skretny
| William Skretny assumed senior status on the United States District Court for the Western District of New York on March 8, 2015.[1] At the time of his transition, Skretny was the chief judge of the court. Skretny served in that role from 2010 until his transition. He was appointed to the court by George H.W. Bush in 1990. Skretny earned his undergraduate degree from Canisius College in 1966 and his J.D. from Howard Law in 1969.
His transition creates the second vacancy on the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. The vacancy warning level rose from yellow to red. |
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New confirmations
There were no new confirmations in the past week.
New nominations
There were no new nominations in the past week.
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
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