In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies in Article III courts during the month of October through Nov. 1. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Vacancies: There have been three new judicial vacancies since the September 2021 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, 78 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- Nominations: There were no new nominations since the September 2021 report.
- Confirmations: There were 14 confirmations since the September 2021 report.
Three 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. Gibney assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
- Judge Michael Mills assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.
- Judge Matthew Kennelly assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
U.S. Court of Appeals vacancies
The following chart tracks the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals from the inauguration of President Joe Biden (D) to 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 Nov. 1.
New nominations
Biden has announced no new nominations since the September 2021 report.
New confirmations
As of Nov. 1, the Senate has confirmed 28 of Biden’s judicial nominees—19 district court judges and nine appeals court judges—since Jan. 2021.
- Ketanji Brown Jackson, to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit
- Tiffany Cunningham, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- Eunice Lee, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
- Veronica Rossman, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
- Gustavo Gelpí, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit
- Myrna Pérez, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
- Toby Heytens, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
- Beth Robinson, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
- Deborah Boardman, to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
- Lydia Kay Griggsby, to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
- Julien Xavier Neals, to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
- Zahid Quraishi, to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
- Regina Rodriguez, to the United States District Court for the District of Colorado
- Angel Kelley, to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- Margaret Strickland, to the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico
- Florence Pan, to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- David G. Estudillo, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
- Lauren King, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
- Sarah A.L. Merriam, to the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
- Christine O’Hearn, to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
- Tana Lin, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
- Patricia Tolliver Giles, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- Karen Williams, to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
- Jia Cobb, to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
- Sarala Nagala, to the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
- Michael Nachmanoff, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- Omar A. Williams, to the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
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
