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 at the very end. All information spans the previous week.

Confirmations

• Apr. 16, 2024: Ramona Villagomez Manglona was confirmed for another ten-year term to the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Vacancies

No new vacancies occurred on the federal judiciary for the week of April 12 to 18, 2024. 73 vacancies remain on the federal judiciary, a number unchanged from a week ago.

Retirements, Deaths, and Resignations

No new retirements, deaths, or resignations occurred on the federal judiciary for the week of April 12 to 18, 2024.

Other

• Apr. 15, 2024: Judge William Lynn Campbell Jr., a Trump appointee, became the Chief Judge of the Middle District of Tennessee, a court that includes the city of Nashville. The position of Chief Judge was previously held by Waverly David Crenshaw Jr., an Obama appointee.
• Apr. 17, 2024: Biden announced the nomination of two judges to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. While not a federal court, the President appoints the judges of the District of Columbia judiciary.
• Apr. 17, 2024: The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on four new nominees to the federal judiciary, including for a nominee to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Apr. 18, 2024: The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance five judicial nominees to the Full Senate, including a nominee to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Analysis

Senate Democrats confirmed just one judge this week, because as I explained last week, none of the other nominees actually have enough Democratic support to be confirmed.

Various Democratic senators may actually oppose the ideological leanings of various judges that Biden has put forth. But I believe a large source of this hesitation is fears over voter backlash.

What nonsense! Republican voters repeatedly rank the federal judiciary as more important to them than Democrats, and Democrat politicians have no chance of winning over Republicans.

The average voter in general does not know anything or cares about the federal judiciary. Democratic Senators have confirmed 194 judges during Biden’s tenure so far and 99.99% of voters can’t name one of those judges.

So where does this silly idea emerge from that voting for “controversial” judicial nominees will sink your elections chances? It’s absurd. Average voters don’t care that you voted for a “controversial” judge.

This is a lesson that Senate Democrats must learn quickly and, ironically, is more of a problem closer to Election Day now that these same politicians are under closer scrutiny.

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.