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The Federal Vacancy Count 9/24/2014
From Ballotpedia
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September 24, 2014
This week's Federal Vacancy Count includes nominations, confirmations and vacancies from September 17, 2014, to September 23, 2014. Nominations, confirmations and vacancies occurring on September 24th will be reflected in the October 1st report.
President Barack Obama nominated seven this week while withdrawing the nomination of Alison Renee Lee after concerns were raised by the South Carolina senators.
The vacancy warning level remained at blue this week after no new vacancies, seven new nominations, no new confirmations and one withdrawn nomination. The vacancy percentage remained at 6.8% and the total number of nominees waiting for confirmation rose to 34. The number of vacancies of Article III judges remained at 60 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 | 7.4% or 50 vacancies |
| International Trade | 9 | 33.3% or 3 vacancy |
| All Judges | 874 | 6.8% or 60 vacancies |
Withdrawn nominations
District of South Carolina
Alison Renee Lee
| Alison Renee Lee is an at-large judge of the South Carolina Circuit Courts. In June of 2013, President Obama nominated Alison Renee Lee for a seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. Her nomination was withdrawn on September 18, 2014, after it appeared she would not receive the support of South Carolina Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott.[1][2] The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina currently has one vacancy, and the warning level is set at blue. | 
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New vacancies
Court of International Trade
Gregory Carman
| On September 15, 2014, Gregory Carman assumed senior status on the United States Court of International Trade.[3] Carman was nominated to the court by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 and served as chief judge from 1996 to 2003. Carman is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and St. John's Law School. The transition creates the third vacancy on the United States Court of International Trade. The vacancy warning level rose from yellow to orange. | 
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New confirmations
There were no new confirmations this week.
New nominations
President Barack Obama on the seven new nominees:
| “ | I am honored to put forward these highly qualified candidates for the federal bench. They will be distinguished public servants and valuable additions to the United States District Court.[4][5] | ” |
District of Utah
Jill Parrish
| Jill Parrish is an associate justice of the Utah Supreme Court. Parrish received a nomination to the United States District Court for the District of Utah from President Barack Obama on September 18, 2014.[4] Parrish earned her B.A., summa cum laude, from Weber State College in 1982 and her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1985.[4] The United States District Court for the District of Utah currently has two vacancies, and the warning level is set at orange. |
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Eastern District of New York
Joan Azrack
| Joan Azrack is a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She was first appointed to this position in 1990.[6] Azrack received a nomination to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York from President Barack Obama on September 18, 2014.[4] Azrack earned her B.S. from Rutgers University in 1974 and her J.D. from New York Law School in 1979.[6] The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York currently has one vacancy, and the warning level is set at blue. |
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Middle District of North Carolina
Loretta Copeland Biggs
| Loretta Copeland Biggs is a partner at the law firm of Allman Spry Davis Leggett & Crumpler, P.A. On September 18, 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Biggs to the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Biggs earned her B.A., cum laude, from Spelman College in 1976 and her J.D. from Howard University School of Law.[4] The United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina currently has one vacancy, and the warning level is set at yellow. | 
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Southern District of Texas
George Hanks
| George Hanks is a magistrate judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He was appointed to the court in September 2010.[7][8] Hanks received a nomination from President Barack Obama to the same district on September 18, 2014.[4] Judge Hanks received his bachelor's degree in economics from Louisiana State University, where he graduated first in his class in 1986. He then graduated from Harvard Law School, earning a J.D. in 1989. At Harvard, Judge Hanks served as an editor of the Harvard Blackletter Law Journal.[6] The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas currently has five vacancies, and the warning level is set at orange. |
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Al Bennett
| Al Bennett is the judge of Texas District 61.[9] Bennett received a nomination to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas from President Barack Obama on September 18, 2014.[4] Bennett earned his B.S. from the University of Houston in 1988 and his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1991.[10] The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas currently has five vacancies, and the warning level is set at orange. |
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Rolando Olvera
| Rolando Olvera is the judge of Texas District 445.[11] President Barack Obama nominated Rolando Olvera to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on September 18, 2014. Olvera received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1985 and his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin in 1989.[4] The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas currently has five vacancies, and the warning level is set at orange. |
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Western District of Virginia
Elizabeth K. Dillon
| Elizabeth K. Dillon is a shareholder at the law firm of Guynn, Memmer & Dillon, P.C. Dillon received a nomination to United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia from President Barack Obama on September 18, 2014. Dillon earned her A.B., magna cum laude, from Lenoir-Rhyne College in 1983 and her J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1986.[4] The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia currently has one vacancy, and the warning level is set at yellow. |
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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
- ↑ The White House, "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate," June 26, 2013
- ↑ The White House, "Presidential Nominations and Withdrawal Sent to the Senate," September 18, 2014
- ↑ United States Courts, "Current Federal Vacancies," accessed September 24, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 The White House, "President Obama Nominates Seven to Serve on the United States District Courts," September 18, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Eastern District of New York, "Biography of Judge Azrack," accessed September 22, 2014 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Southern District of Texas, "Order of Appointment," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ United States District Court Southern District of Texas, "United States Magistrate Judge George C. Hanks, Jr.," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ State of Texas, "61st District," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Martindale, "Al Bennett - Judge Profile," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Texas Courts, "445th District," accessed September 22, 2014
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