On the Bench: Week of October 24

This week the White House announced two new judicial nominees for district courts in California. The nominees included:

Judge Serena Murillo is a judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court (LASC) presiding over felony trials in the court’s Criminal Division. Her varied experience includes service in the court’s Appellate Division and the Civil Division, where she managed a general unlimited civil court. She is the twice-elected co-chair of the LASC’s Latino Judicial Officers Association and President-Elect of California Women Judges

Judge Ben Cheeks is a federal magistrate judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. He previously worked as a solo practitioner doing criminal defense and civil litigation. Prior to that he worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office in San Diego and as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan.

The Senate is still in recess and will return on Nov. 12 with a scheduled confirmation vote for April Perry.

The Biden-Harris Administration is at 213 Article III confirmations. On this date during the Trump Administration, there were 219 confirmations. The current administration is only 21 short of matching the previous administration’s four-year total.

As of October 24th, there are 67 Article III vacancies, 45 of which are current. There are now 28 pending nominees: 17 waiting for floor votes, 8 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 5 waiting for hearings before the Committee.