According to the latest vacancy data from the U.S. Courts, there were 25 total announced upcoming vacancies for Article III judgeships as of April 5, 2023. Article III judgeships refer to federal judges who serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of International Trade, or one of the 13 U.S. courts of appeal or 94 U.S. district courts. These are lifetime appointments made by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
These positions are not yet vacant but will be at some point in the future with every judge having announced his or her intent to either leave the bench or assume senior status. In the meantime, these judges will continue to serve in their current positions.
The president and Senate do not need to wait for a position to become vacant before they can start the confirmation process for a successor. For example, S. Kato Crews was nominated to replace Judge Raymond P. Moore after he assumes senior status on June 20, 2023. There are currently two nominees pending for upcoming vacancies.
Six vacancy effective dates have not been determined because the judge has not announced the date he or she will leave the bench. The next upcoming scheduled vacancy will take place on April 14, 2023, when United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri Judge Audrey Fleissig assumes senior status.
In addition to these 25 upcoming vacancies, there are 74 current Article III vacancies in the federal judiciary out of the 870 total Article III judgeships. Including non-Article III judges from the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States territorial courts, there are 76 vacancies out of 890 active federal judicial positions.
As of April 5, 2023, President Biden has nominated 158 individuals to federal judgeships on Article III courts, and 119 of those nominees have been confirmed. Of the 28 nominees going through the confirmation process, 14 are awaiting a vote in the U.S. Senate, eight are awaiting a committee vote, and six are awaiting a committee hearing.
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