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 judges were confirmed for the week of March 29 to April 4, 2024.

Vacancies

• March 27, 2024: David Norman Hurd of the Northern District of New York announced he would be taking senior status upon the confirmation of a successor, opening up a vacancy on that court.

Though the vacancy was announced last week, it was only reported by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts on April 4, 2024.

The number of vacancies on the federal judiciary is now 75, an increase from 74 a week ago.

Retirements, Deaths, and Resignations

• March 31, 2024: Senior Judge William Theodore Moore Jr., a Carter appointee, retired from the Southern District of Georgia.

There are now 3 Republican-appointed judges and 1 Democrat-appointed judge on the court.

Other

• March 31, 2024: Judge Dolly Maizie Gee, an Obama appointee, became the Chief Judge of the Central District of California. Her predecessor was George W. Bush appointee Philip Steven Gutierrez.

Analysis

I have little to add for this week’s edition. First, I am proud to say that as of this publication, the series had been running for four consecutive months!

Second, I was shocked to see that a judge had declared senior status after two months of a lull in new vacancies. This was an unexpected move and indicates to me that any liberal judges eligible for senior status are very weary of the next election and that a conservative President may appoint their successors.

Third, judicial confirmations will resume next week following the Senate’s recess. On April 8th, the Senate will consider a judge to the District of Nebraska, followed by a judge to the Eastern District of Michigan and then a judge to the District of Utah.

If Senate Democrats want to make the most of the next seven months before the presidential election, they need to prioritize confirming the 7 appeals judges that they can; confirming just 7 appeals judges would mean confirming 4% of the Circuit Courts, the courts just below the Supreme Court.

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 an enjoyable weekend.