On The Bench: Week March 9, 2023

The Senate continued to make substantial progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, the has Senate confirmed 5 Article III nominees: Justice Maria Kahn (2d Cir.) in a 51-42 vote, Magistrate Judge Robert Ballou (W.D. Va.) in a 59-37 vote, Arun Subramanian (S.D.N.Y.) in a 59-37 vote, Judge James Simmons Jr. (S.D. Cal.) in a 51-43 vote, and Magistrate Judge Andrew Schopler (S.D. Cal.) in a 56-39 vote. Despite this progress, there are still 21 nominees who are awaiting action on the Senate floor.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held an executive business meeting this week. The Committee was set to vote on several candidates, but they were unable to due to Senator Feinstein’s continued absence. At the meeting, the Committee advanced only 1 nominee: Magistrate Judge Matthew Brookman (S.D. Ind.). Brookman is now eligible for cloture and confirmation votes.

Judge Marco Hernandez (D. Or.) announced his intention to take senior status in August 2024. This will be the only current or known future vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.

As of March 9, there are 98 Article III vacancies, 75 of which are current. There are 35 pending nominees: 21 waiting for floor votes, 10 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 4 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 116 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.