In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from February 2, 2024, to March 1, 2024. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Vacancies: There have been two new judicial vacancies since the February 2024 report. There are 51 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, 52 of 890 active federal judicial positions are vacant.
- Nominations: There have been nine new nominations since the previous report.
- Confirmations: There have been six new confirmations since the previous report.
New vacancies
There were 51 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, a total vacancy percentage of 5.9, which is 0.8 percentage points lower than the vacancy percentage in February 2024.
- The nine-member U.S. Supreme Court does not have any vacancies.
- Three (1.7%) of the 179 U.S. Appeals Court positions are vacant.
- 48 (7.1%) of the 677 U.S. District Court positions are vacant.
- None 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.
Since the February 2024 report, two judges 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 Gary Sharpe left the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York on February 12, 2024, upon his death.
- Judge Wilhelmina Wright assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
The following map shows the number of vacancies on the United States Court of Appeals as of March 1, 2024.
The following map shows the number of vacancies in the United States District Courts as of March 1, 2024.
The following chart shows the number of federal judicial vacancies each month during the Biden administration from January 2021 to March 2024.
New nominations
Biden has announced nine new nominations since the previous report.
- Sanket Bulsara, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- Dena Coggins, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
- Eric Schulte, to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota
- Camela Theeler, to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota
- Nancy Maldonado, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- Georgia Alexakis, to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- Krissa Lanham, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
- Angela Martinez, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
- Sparkle Sooknanan, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Since taking office in January 2021, Biden has nominated 218 individuals to Article III positions.
New confirmations
There have been six new confirmations since the previous report:
- Joseph Laroski, to the U.S. Court of International Trade
- Amy Baggio, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
- David Leibowitz, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- Jacqueline Becerra, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- Melissa Damian, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- Julie Sneed, to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
As of March 1, 2024, the Senate has confirmed 181 of Biden’s Article III judicial nominees—138 district court judges, 40 appeals court judges, two international trade judges, and one Supreme Court justice. To review a complete list of Biden’s confirmed nominees, click here.
Additional reading:
Federal judicial appointments by president
Current federal judicial vacancies
