On The Bench: Week of July 11, 2024

The Senate returned from recess this week and made limited progress on judicial confirmations. As of this writing, the Senate confirmed one Article III nominee this week: Judge Nancy Maldonado (7th Cir.). Judge Maldonado becomes the first Hispanic person to ever serve as a judge on the Seventh Circuit.

Despite limited progress on the Senate floor, the Senate Judiciary Committee continues to process judicial nominations. On Wednesday, the Committee held a hearing for three Article III nominees: Mary Kay Costello (E.D. Pa.), Laura Margarete Provinzino (D. Minn.), and Judge Noël Wise (N.D. Cal.). These nominees are now eligible for a full committee vote.

On Thursday, the Committee held an executive business meeting where it successfully advanced eight Article III nominees to the Senate floor: Judge Michelle Williams Court (C.D. Cal.), Judge Anne Hwang (C.D. Cal.), Stacey Neumann (D. Me.), Judge Cynthia Valenzuela (C.D. Cal.), Magistrate Judge Embry Kidd (11th Cir.), Magistrate Judge Adam Abelson (D. Md.), Magistrate Judge Joseph Saporito Jr. (M.D. Pa.), and Judge Meredith Vacca (W.D.N.Y.). All these nominees are now eligible for cloture and confirmation votes.

Since the last On the Bench, the White House released the newest slate of Article III nominees. The slate had four nominees: Ryan Park (4th Cir.), Byron Conway (E.D. Wis.), Magistrate Judge Jonathan Hawley (C.D. Ill.), and Judge Gail Weilheimer.

As of July 11, there are 72 Article III vacancies, 48 of which are current. Once the latest nominees are officially nominated, there will be 33 pending nominees: 17 waiting for floor votes, 8 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 8 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 202 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.