The U.S. Senate confirmed one of President Joe Biden’s (D) federal judicial nominees to a lifetime Article III judgeship on Dec. 13:
- Lucy Koh, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, by a vote of 50-45
The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit is one of 13 U.S. courts of appeal. They are the intermediate appellate courts of the federal court system.
Koh was nominated to the 9th Circuit on Sept. 20 to replace Judge Richard A. Paez, who is scheduled to assume senior status. Koh was rated Well Qualified by the American Bar Association.
To date, 29 of Biden’s appointees have been confirmed. For historical comparison since 1981, the following list shows the date by which the past six presidents had 29 Article III judicial nominees confirmed by the Senate:
- President Donald Trump (R) – March 6, 2018
- President Barack Obama (D) – June 7, 2010
- President George W. Bush (R) – Jan. 25, 2002
- President Bill Clinton (D) – Feb. 10, 1994
- President George H.W. Bush (R) – April 27, 1990
- President Ronald Reagan (R) – Nov. 24, 1981
As of this writing, 15 Article III nominees are awaiting a confirmation vote from the U.S Senate, nine nominees are awaiting a Senate Judiciary Committee vote to advance their nominations to the full Senate, and nine nominees are awaiting a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Additional reading:
- Bar association ratings
- United States Court of Appeals
- Judicial vacancies during the Biden administration
- Judicial vacancies in federal courts
- Current federal judicial vacancies
