The Enlightenment

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Welcome to The Judiciary at Noon! Take a break from work to get an update on the oft-neglected third branch of the United States government, the judicial branch.

The series covers any updates to the federal judiciary, including any new judges confirmed, any deaths, resignations, or retirements from the courts, and any new vacancies that have occurred. It includes political analysis and fun information about the United States judiciary at the very end. All information spans the previous week.

Confirmations

No new judges were confirmed this week. The Senate, the body that votes to confirm new judges, is adjourned until January 8th of next year.

Vacancies

On December 26th, Thomas M. Durkin of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois took senior status (a form of semi-retirement for judges), opening up a vacancy on that court. 89 vacancies remain on the federal judiciary, same as a week before. Is the term “District Court” leaving you puzzled? Check out the end of the previous The Judiciary at Noon for clarification.

Deaths, retirements, and resignations

No judges died, retired, or resigned during the week of December 22nd to December 28th.

Analysis

As the Senate has adjourned for the holidays, there is a lull in judicial confirmations. Starting January 8th of the new year, however, the Senate will consider Biden judicial nominees to serve in Texas.

Something I didn’t mention in last week’s post is that Biden has announced a new group of judicial nominees—all of them in solid Republican states like Wyoming. As most vacancies in safe Democratic states have already been filled, Biden’s nominees will increasingly be in Republican-controlled states.

It’s just over eleven months until the 2024 elections. Democrats have a good chance of losing the Senate and even losing the presidency. Losing either will put an end to any Democratic efforts to reshape the federal judiciary after the Trump era.

There are 29 vacancies scheduled for 2024 and 2025, and 59 vacancies currently in place. We can expect at least another 30 vacancies to occur in 2024, meaning we are looking at over 120 judges to be confirmed in 11 months. Will Democrats be able to fill all those spots? Only time will tell, but judging by the current pace of the Senate, the chances are slim.

BONUS: How does a judge become a judge?

The President of the United States nominates all candidates for the federal judiciary. Federal judicial nominees are practically all lawyers by profession, and usually serve in government agencies prior to their nomination.

Once nominated, the Senate of the United States must decide to confirm a judicial candidate or not. First, both Senators of the state from which the judicial nominee comes from must approve of the nominee (a process known as the blue-slip process).

Next, a 21-member panel of the Senate known as the Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings on the nominee, and votes whether to advance their nomination. If the Committee votes in favor, then the entire 100-member Senate votes on the nominee. If the nominee receives a simple majority of the vote, they are confirmed as a judge. Judges serve their term for life unless they resign, retire, or are impeached (removed) by the Senate.

SIGN-OFF

That’s it for this week’s The Judiciary at Noon. This has been Anthony Myrlados. I’ll see you next noon and until then I wish you all a very Happy New Year!