According to the latest vacancy data from the U.S. Courts, there were 24 total announced upcoming vacancies for Article III judgeships. Article III judgeships refer to federal judges who serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of International Trade, one of the 13 U.S. courts of appeal, or one of the 94 U.S. district courts. These are lifetime appointments made by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
These positions are not yet vacant but will be at some point in the future with every judge having announced his or her intent to either leave the bench or assume senior status. In the meantime, these judges will continue to serve in their current positions.
The president and Senate do not need to wait for a position to become vacant before they can start the confirmation process for a successor. For example, Jennifer Hall was nominated to replace Judge Richard G. Andrews after he assumes senior status on December 31, 2023. There are currently two nominees pending for upcoming vacancies.
Seven vacancy effective dates have not been determined because the judge has not announced the date he or she will leave the bench. The next upcoming scheduled vacancy will take place on September 8, 2023, when U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey Judge John Michael Vazquez resigns.
In addition to these 24 upcoming vacancies, there are 70 current Article III vacancies in the federal judiciary out of the 870 total Article III judgeships. Including non-Article III judges from the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States territorial courts, there are 71 vacancies out of 890 active federal judicial positions.
