In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies in Article III courts during the month of March through April 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 February 2022 report. There are 72 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, 74 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- Nominations: There were no new nominations since the February 2022 report.
- Confirmations: There were 12 confirmations since the February 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 John A. Kronstadt assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
- Judge Jeffrey R. Howard assumed senior status on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit.
- Judge Alison J. Nathan left her seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York upon her elevation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
- Judge John Jarvey retired from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
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 President 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 April 1, 2022.
New nominations
Biden has announced no new nominations since the February 2022 report. Since taking office in January 2021, Biden has nominated 83 individuals to Article III positions.
New confirmations
The U.S. Senate confirmed 12 nominees since the previous report.
- Sarah Geraghty, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- Georgette Castner, to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
- Hector Gonzalez, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- Cristina Silva, to the United States District Court for the District of Nevada
- Anne Traum, to the United States District Court for the District of Nevada
- John Chun, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
- Julie Rubin, to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
- Alison J. Nathan, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
- Victoria Calvert, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- Ruth Bermudez Montenegro, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
- Fred W. Slaughter, to the United States District Court for the Central District of California
- Jacqueline Scott Corley, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
As of April 1, 2022, the Senate had confirmed 58 of President Biden’s judicial nominees—43 district court judges and 15 appeals court judges. 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
- Federal judicial appointments by president
- United States federal courts
