On The Bench: Week of May 23, 2024

The Senate made encouraging progress on judicial nominations this week with 4 Article III confirmations. The 4 confirmations were: Seth Aframe (1st Cir.), Kriss Lanham (D. Ariz.), Magistrate Judge Angela Martinez (D. Ariz.), and Judge Dena Coggins (E.D. Cal.). With these confirmations the Senate confirmed the 200th Article III nominee during the Biden Administration. This puts the Biden Administration ahead of its predecessor which did not reach that milestone until June 24, 2020. For more on this achievement, see ACS’s statement here.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for 5 Article III nominees: Judge Michelle Williams Court (C.D. Cal.), Judge Anne Hwang (C.D. Cal.), Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn (S.D.N.Y.), Stacey Neumann (D. Me.), and Judge Cynthia Valenzuela (C.D. Cal.). All five nominees are now eligible for a committee vote.

On Thursday, the White House announced the next slate of 4 Article III nominees: Karla Campbell (6th Cir.), Justice Julia Lipez (1st Cir.), Catherine Henry (E.D. Pa.), and Mary Kay Lanthier (D. Vt.). This slate continues the White House’s trend of trying to bring more professional diversity to the federal judiciary.

As of May 23, there are 67 Article III vacancies, 42 of which are current. Once the latest nominees are officially nominated, there will be 27 pending nominees: 10 waiting for floor votes, 5 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 12 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 201 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.