Federal Judicial Vacancy Count: 70 Vacancies Remain Out Of 870 Active Positions

In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Zenger News tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from July 2, 2023, through August 1, 2023. Zenger News publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Vacancies: There was one new judicial vacancy since the July 1 report. There are 70 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions in courts covered in this report. Including the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States territorial courts, 70 of 890 active federal judicial positions were vacant.
• Nominations: There were four new nominations since the previous report.
• Confirmations: There were four new confirmations since the previous report.

New vacancies

There were 70 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, a total vacancy rate of 8%, which is 0.2 percentage points lower than the vacancy rate in July 2023.

• The nine-member U.S. Supreme Court does not have any vacancies.
• Seven (3.9%) of the 179 U.S. Appeals Court positions are vacant.
• 61 (9%) of the 677 U.S. District Court positions are vacant.
• Two (22.2%) of the nine U.S. Court of International Trade positions are vacant.

“A vacancy occurs when a judge resigns, retires, takes senior status, or passes away. Article III judges, who serve on courts authorized by Article III of the Constitution, are appointed for life terms,” said Ballotpedia.

One judge left active status, creating Article III life-term judicial vacancies. As Article III judicial positions, these 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 Jon E. DeGuilio assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana,” said Ballotpedia.

U.S. Court of Appeals vacancies

New nominations

Biden announced four new nominations since the previous report. On July 27, 2023, the president announced his intent to nominate the following individuals:

• Joshua Kolar to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• Richard Federico to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• Jeffrey M. Bryan to the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
• Eumi Lee to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California

“Since taking office in January 2021, Biden has nominated 174 individuals to Article III positions,” said Ballotpedia.

New confirmations

There have been four new confirmations since the previous report:

• Rachel Bloomekatz to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Tiffany Cartwright to the U.S. Court for the Western District of Washington
• Myong Joun to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
• Kymberly Evanson to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

As of August 1, 2023, the Senate has confirmed 140 of Biden’s Article III judicial nominees—103 district court judges, 36 appeals court judges, and one Supreme Court justice—since his inauguration on January 20, 2021. 

Produced in association with Ballotpedia

Edited by Judy J. Rotich and Newsdesk Manager