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The Federal Vacancy Count 8/13/2014
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August 13, 2014
This week's Federal Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from August 6, 2014, to August 12, 2014. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on August 13th will be reflected in the August 20th report.
This week saw the passing of Frederick Heebe, age 91, who served on the Eastern District of Louisiana from 1966 to 2006.
The vacancy warning level remained at blue this week after no new vacancies and no new confirmations. One missed vacancy from August 1, 2014, is covered in this week's report. The vacancy percentage rose to 6.6%. There were no new nominations this week, which allowed the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation to remain at 27. The number of vacancies of Article III judges rose to 58 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 | 7.2% or 49 vacancies |
| International Trade | 9 | 11.1% or 1 vacancy |
| All Judges | 874 | 6.6% or 58 vacancies |
New vacancies
Central District of California
Audrey Collins
| Audrey Collins retired from the United States District Court for the Central District of California on August 1, 2014. Upon retiring, Collins transitioned to the California Second District Court of Appeal. Collins was appointed to the federal court in 1994 by President Bill Clinton and served as the chief judge from 2009 to 2012. The transition creates the only vacancy on the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and the warning level rose from green to blue. | 
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New confirmations
There were no new confirmations this week.
New nominations
There were no new nominations this week.
Passings
Eastern District of Louisiana
Frederick Heebe
| Frederick Heebe passed away on August 10, 2014, at the age of 91.[1] Heebe was a federal judge on senior status for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana until 2006 when his health required him to leave the federal bench. He was appointed to the federal court in 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson to fill the vacancy of Frank Ellis. Starting in 1972, he served as the chief judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana for 20 years. Prior to joining the federal court, Heebe served Jefferson Parish as a judge of the 24th Judicial District of Louisiana. Before that, he worked as an attorney in the parish. He earned his law degree in 1949 from Tulane University after serving in the United States Army in 1945 and 1946. Heebe earned his undergraduate degree form Tulane prior to entering the service during World War II. He is remembered by his wife, Doris, and two children, Fred and Adrea Dee.[1]
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana currently has no vacancies, and the warning level is set at green. |
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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
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