In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies in Article III courts during the month of April through May 1, 2022. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Vacancies: There have been four new judicial vacancies since the March 2022 report. There are 75 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions on courts covered in this report. Including the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States territorial courts, 77 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- Nominations: There were 10 new nominations since the March 2022 report.
- Confirmations: There were two confirmations since the March 2022 report.
Four judges left active status, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies, since the previous vacancy count. As Article III judicial positions, vacancies must be filled by a nomination from the president. Nominations are subject to confirmation on the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.
- Judge David Nuffer assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah
- Judge Noel Hillman assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
- Judge John Mendez assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- Judge Denise Hood assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. Court of Appeals vacancies
The following chart tracks the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals at the inauguration of Pres. Joe Biden (D) and at the date indicated on the chart.
The following maps show the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals at Biden’s inauguration and as of May 1, 2022.
U.S. District Court vacancies
The following map shows the number of vacancies in the United States District Courts as of May 1, 2022.
New nominations
Biden announced 10 new nominations since the previous report. Since taking office in Jan. 2021, Biden has nominated 93 individuals to Article III positions.
- John Z. Lee, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
- Sal Mendoza, Jr., to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
- Sarah A.L. Merriam, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
- Lara Montecalvo, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit
- Elizabeth Hanes, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- Stephen Locher, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
- Nancy Maldonado, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- Anne Nardacci, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
- Ana Reyes, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- Gregory Williams, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware
New confirmations
The U.S. Senate confirmed two nominees since the previous report.
- Ketanji Brown Jackson, to the Supreme Court of the United States
- Sherilyn P. Garnett, to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
As of May 1, 2022, the Senate had confirmed 60 of Biden’s judicial nominees—44 district court judges, 15 appeals court judges, and one Supreme Court justice. To review a complete list of Biden’s confirmed nominees, click here.
Additional reading:
- Current federal judicial vacancies
- Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden
- Judicial vacancies during the Biden administration
