The Federal Vacancy Count 4/26/2017

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 1%-9% 10%-24% 25%-40% More than 40%

See: Supreme Court vacancy, 2017: An overview

April 26, 2017

This month's Federal Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from March 29, 2017, to April 25, 2017.

HIGHLIGHTS

Vacancies: There were four new vacancies since the March 2017 report, bringing the total number of vacancies to 137 out of 985 active judge positions, including 121 vacancies in positions where a confirmed nominee is eligible to serve a life term.

Nominations: There were no new nominations since the March 2017 report.

Confirmations: There was one new confirmation since the March 2017 report.

The vacancy warning level remained at yellow this month after four new vacancies were announced. The total vacancy percentage was 13.9 percent, and there were 137 vacancies out of 985 positions, including 121 vacancies in positions where a confirmed nominee is eligible to serve a life term. There were two new nominations this month.

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 Ballotpedia's Federal Court Vacancy Warning System. The Federal Court Vacancy Warning System presents information on current Article III judicial vacancies in the federal court system, as well as the status of pending nominees to the federal bench.

For more on vacancies during Trump's first term, see our special report

See also: The Trump administration on federal courts

Vacancies by court

Court	# of Seats	Vacancies
Supreme Court	9	0% or 0 vacancies
Appeals Courts	179	10.6% or 20 vacancies
District Courts	677	14.62% or 99 vacancies
International Trade	9	22.2% or 2 vacancies
Federal Claims	16	37.5% or 6 vacancies
Tax Court	19	10.5% or 2 vacancies
Armed Forces	5	0% or 0 vacancies
D.C. Court of Appeals	9	22.2% or 2 vacancies
D.C. Superior Court	62	9.7% or 6 vacancies
All Judges	985	13.9% or 137 vacancies

New confirmations

Supreme Court of the United States

Neil Gorsuch is the 113th associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Gorsuch was born on August 29, 1967, in Denver, Colorado. Gorsuch's mother, Anne Gorsuch Burford, was the first female head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Ronald Reagan. Gorsuch earned his B.A. from Columbia University in 1988, his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1991, and his D.Phil. from the University of Oxford in 2004. While at Columbia, Gorsuch co-founded a newspaper (The Federalist) and a magazine (The Morningside Review). On January 31, 2017, Gorsuch was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump to a seat vacated by Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in judicial service. The American Bar Association rated Gorsuch Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Confirmation hearings on Gorsuch's nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee were held from March 20-23, 2017. Gorsuch's nomination was reported by Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on April 3, 2017. On April 7, 2017, the U.S. Senate confirmed Gorsuch on a recorded 54-45 vote. He was sworn in as an associate justice on April 10, 2017. Gorsuch's confirmation filled the only vacancy on the court. The current vacancy warning level of this court is green. Under current law, the court has a total of nine active judicial positions.

For more on the Justice Gorsuch's nomination, see Supreme Court vacancy, 2017: An overview

For more on his confirmation hearings, see Neil Gorsuch confirmation hearings

New vacancies

The following judges vacated their active status, creating Article III judicial vacancies. As Article III judicial positions, these vacancies must be filled by a nomination from the president. That nomination is subject to confirmation on the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.

United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit

Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trump's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, was confirmed as an associate justice by the U.S. Senate on April 7, 2017. According to the Federal Judicial Center's biography of Justice Gorsuch, he resigned from the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals on April 9, 2017, creating an Article III vacancy. Justice Gorsuch served on the Tenth Circuit from August 8, 2006, until his resignation on April 9, 2017. His resignation created the only current vacancy on the court. The current vacancy warning level of this court is blue. Under current law, the court has a total of 12 active judicial positions.

United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

Harold Murphy is a senior federal judge with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Born in Haralson County, Georgia, in 1927, Murphy graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law with his LL.B. in 1949. Murphy was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on July 7, 1977, to a seat vacated by James Hill. Murphy was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 28, 1977, and he received his commission on July 29, 1977. Murphy elected to take senior status beginning on March 31, 2017. Murphy's decision to take senior status created a second vacancy on the court. The current vacancy warning level of this court is yellow. Under current law, the court has a total of 11 active judicial positions.

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

James Gardner is a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Gardner graduated from Yale University with his bachelor's degree in 1962 and from Harvard Law School with his J.D. in 1965. Gardner was nominated by President George W. Bush on April 22, 2002, to a seat vacated by Judge Jan DuBois. The American Bar Association rated Gardner Substantial Majority Well Qualified, Minority Qualified for the nomination. Gardner was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on October 2, 2002, and he received his commission the next day. Gardner elected to take senior status beginning April 3, 2017. Gardner's decision to take senior status created a third vacancy on the court. The current vacancy warning level of this court is yellow. Under current law, the court has a total of 22 active judicial positions.

United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee

Kevin Hunter Sharp was a judge on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Sharp earned his bachelor's degree from Christian Brothers College in 1990 and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1993. Sharp was nominated to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee by President Barack Obama on November 17, 2010, to a seat vacated by Robert Echols. Under Rule XXXI, paragraph six, of the standing rules of the U.S. Senate, Sharp's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the 111th United States Congress. President Obama resubmitted the nomination on January 5, 2011. The American Bar Association rated Sharp Unanimously Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Sharp's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 2, 2011, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on March 31, 2011. Sharp was confirmed on a recorded 89-0 vote of the U.S. Senate on May 2, 2011, and he received his commission the next day. From 2014 to 2017, Sharp served as chief judge of the district court. He retired from the bench on April 15, 2017. Sharp's decision to retire from the bench created a second vacancy on the court. The current vacancy warning level of this court is red. Under current law, the court has a total of four active judicial positions.

New nominations

There have been no new federal judicial nominations since our March 2017 update.

Monthly map

See also

• Supreme Court vacancy, 2017: An overview
• Neil Gorsuch confirmation hearings
• United States federal courts
• Federal Court Vacancy Warning System
• Judicial vacancies during the Trump administration
• The Trump administration on federal courts