Welcome to the April 8 edition of Robe & Gavel, Ballotpedia’s newsletter about the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and other judicial happenings around the U.S.
We are back with another exciting batch of federal vacancy count updates. So grab a seat, and let’s gavel in!
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Grants
SCOTUS has accepted no new cases to its merits docket since our March 25 issue. To date, the court has agreed to hear 62 cases for the 2023-2024 term. SCOTUS dismissed one case after it was accepted. Two cases have been accepted for the 2024-2025 term.
Arguments
The Supreme Court will not hear any arguments this week. Click here to read more about SCOTUS’ current term.
In its October 2022 term, SCOTUS heard arguments in 60 cases. One case was dismissed. Click here to read more about SCOTUS’ previous term.
Opinions
SCOTUS has not ruled on any cases since our previous edition. The court has issued rulings in eleven cases so far this term.
The Federal Vacancy Count
The Federal Vacancy Count tracks vacancies, nominations, and confirmations to all United States Article III federal courts in a one-month period. This month’s edition includes nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from March 2 through April 1.
Highlights
- Vacancies: There have been no new judicial vacancies since the March 1 report. There are 44 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions on courts covered in this report. Including the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. territorial courts, 45 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- Nominations: There were five new nominations since the March 2024 report.
- Confirmations: There were nine new confirmations since the March 2024 report.
Vacancy count for April 1, 2024
A breakdown of the vacancies at each level can be found in the table below. For a more detailed look at the vacancies in the federal courts, click here.
*Though the U.S. territorial courts are named as district courts, they are not Article III courts. They are created in accordance with the power granted under Article IV of the U.S. Constitution. Click here for more information.
New vacancies
No judges left active status since the previous vacancy count. The president nominates individuals to fill Article III judicial position vacancies. Nominations are subject to U.S. Senate confirmation.
The following chart tracks the number of vacancies in the U.S. Courts of Appeals from President Joe Biden’s (D) inauguration to the date indicated on the chart.
U.S. District Court vacancies
The following map shows the number of vacancies in the U.S. District Courts as of April 1.
New nominations
President Biden announced five new nominations since the March 1 report:
- Brian Murphy, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- Rebecca Pennell, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
- Kevin Ritz, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Detra Shaw-Wilder, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- Jeannette Vargas, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
The president has announced 223 Article III judicial nominations since taking office on January 20, 2021. For more information on the president’s judicial nominees, click here.
New confirmations
As of April 1, the Senate has confirmed 190 of President Biden’s Article III judicial nominees—146 district court judges, 41 appeals court judges, two international trade judges, and one Supreme Court justice—since his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021.
- Ernesto Gonzalez, to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- Leon Schydlower, to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- Edward Kiel, to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
- Eumi Lee, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- Nicole Berner, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- Melissa DuBose, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island
- Jasmine Yoon, to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
- Sunil Harjani, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- Kelly Rankin, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming
Comparison of Article III judicial appointments over time by president (1981-Present)
- Presidents have made an average of 165.5 judicial appointments through April 1 of their fourth year in office.
- President Donald Trump (R) made the most appointments through April 1 of his fourth year with 193. President Ronald Reagan (R) made the fewest with 131.
- President Donald Trump (R) made the most appointments through four years with 234. President Ronald Reagan (R) made the fewest through four years with 166.
- President Ronald Reagan (R) made the most appointments through one year in office with 41. President Barack Obama (D) made the fewest with 13.
Need a daily fix of judicial nomination, confirmation, and vacancy information? Click here for continuing updates on the status of all federal judicial nominees.
Or, keep an eye on this list for updates on federal judicial nominations.
Looking ahead
We’ll be back on April 15 with a new edition of Robe & Gavel. Until then, gaveling out!
Contributions
Myj Saintyl compiled and edited this newsletter, with contributions from Sam Post, and Ellie Mikus.
