Category: Judicial Nominations

There was some progress on judicial nominations this week. The Senate spent a majority of its floor time on executive branch nominees. However, the Senate did invoke cloture on Bradley Garcia (D.C. Cir.), setting up a confirmation vote as early as next week. If confirmed, Bradley Garcia would be the first Latinx judge to ever serve on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a mark-up. With Senator Feinstein back in attendance, the Committee was able to successfully advance 6 Article III nominees: Charnelle Bjelkengren (E.D. Wash.), Magistrate Judge Kato Crews (D. Colo.), Judge Marian Gaston (S.D. Cal.), Jeremy Daniel (N.D. Ill.), Magistrate Judge Brendan Hurson (D. Md.), and Darrel Papillion (E.D. La.). All six nominees are eligible for cloture and confirmation votes.

As of May 11, there are 96 Article III vacancies, 72 of which are current. There are 35 pending nominees: 25 waiting for floor votes, 1 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 9 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 126 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

The Senate made substantial progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, there have been 6 Article III confirmations: Anthony Johnstone (9th Cir.) in a 49-45 vote, Orelia Merchant (E.D.N.Y.) in a 51-48 vote, Michael Farbiarz (D.N.J.) in a 65-34 vote, Judge LaShonda Hunt (N.D. Ill.) in a 56-41 vote, Judge Wesley Hsu (C.D. Cal.) in a 53-43 vote, and Judge Robert Kirsch (D.N.J.) in a 57-42 vote. These confirmations help alleviate some of the backlog of judicial nominees on the Senate floor. After these confirmations, there are still 20 Article III nominees waiting for cloture and confirmation votes.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a mark-up. Due to ongoing attendance issues, the Committee was unable to advance any Article III nominees out of Committee.

The White House announced the next slate of judicial nominees this week. The slate contained four district court nominees: Judge Loren AliKhan (D.D.C.), Susan DeClercq (E.D. Mich.), Judge Julia Munley (M.D. Pa.), and Judge Vernon Oliver (D. Conn.). This slate continues the White House’s trend of trying to diversify the federal bench, as a majority of these candidates are women, and a majority are people of color.

As of May 4, there are 97 Article III vacancies, 73 of which are current. Once the new nominees are officially nominated, there will be 36 pending nominees: 20 waiting for floor votes, 7 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 9 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 125 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

In other judiciary news, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on judicial ethics this week. The hearing seemed to be a response to the ongoing reporting about Justice Clarence Thomas and billionaire Harland Crow by ProPublica.

Another week with limited progress on judicial nominations. As of this writing, there have been no confirmations, which means it will likely be at least a month between judicial confirmations. With the results of this week’s Senate Judiciary Committee mark-up, there are now 26 Article III nominees pending on the Senate floor.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a mark-up where they successfully voted 1 Article III nominee out of Committee and to the floor: Judge Amanda Brailsford (D. Idaho). Judge Brailsford is now eligible for a cloture and a confirmation vote.

The Senate invoked cloture on one nominee this week: Anthony Johnstone (9th Cir.). Johnstone can now be confirmed as soon as next week. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also filed cloture on 3 Article III nominees: Orelia Merchant (E.D.N.Y.), Michael Farbiarz (D.N.J.), and Judge Robert Kirsch (D.N.J.). At this time, it is unclear when the votes on these cloture motions will occur.

As of April 27, there are 103 Article III vacancies, 76 of which are current. There are 38 pending nominees: 26 waiting for floor votes, 7 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 5 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 119 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

The Senate returned from recess this week yet continued to make limited progress on judicial nominations. As of this writing, there have been no confirmations. With the results of this week’s Senate Judiciary Committee mark-up, there are now 25 Article III nominees pending on the Senate floor.

On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for 3 Article III nominees: Jeremy Daniel (N.D. Ill.), Magistrate Judge Brendan Hurson (D. Md.), and Darrel Papillion (E.D. La.). These nominees are now eligible for a full committee vote.

On Thursday, the Committee held a mark-up where they successfully voted 7 Article III nominees out of committee and to the floor. The nominees were: Judge Jeffrey Cummings (N.D. Ill.), Judge LaShonda Hunt (N.D. Ill.), Judge Wesley Hsu (C.D. Cal.), Orelia Merchant (E.D.N.Y.), Michael Farbiarz (D.N.J.), Judge Robert Kirsch (D.N.J.), and Mónica Ramírez Almadani (C.D. Cal.). All seven are now eligible for a cloture and confirmation vote on the Senate floor.

Late last week, the White House announced the next slate of judicial nominees. The slate contained two nominations for the circuit courts: Judge Ana de Alba (9th Cir.) and Judge Irma Ramirez (5th Cir.). If confirmed, Judge Ramirez would be the only active Latinx judge on the Fifth Circuit.

As of April 20, there are 102 Article III vacancies, 75 of which are current. There are 38 pending nominees: 25 waiting for floor votes, 8 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 5 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 119 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

In large part due to ongoing attendance issues, the Senate has made limited progress on judicial nominations in recent weeks, with only three confirmations since March 16. As of April 6, there are still 18 Article III nominees pending on the Senate floor, waiting for cloture and confirmation votes.

With the Senate on recess, the earliest there could be any movement on judicial nominees is the week of April 17, when the recess is over. Numerous reports have indicated that Senator Fetterman intends to return to the Senate that week as well. This will help alleviate some of the attendance issues in the Democratic Caucus.

As of April 6, there are 99 Article III vacancies, 74 of which are current. There are 36 pending nominees: 18 waiting for floor votes, 12 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 6 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 119 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

On the Bench will return when the full Senate is back from the April recess and judicial nominations activity resumes.

With several continued absences in the Democratic Caucus, the Senate made little progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, Magistrate Judge Matthew Brookman (S.D. Ind.) has been the only confirmation of the week. He was confirmed in a voice vote. This leaves 18 nominees pending on the Senate floor, awaiting cloture and confirmation votes.

The Senate is set to go on a two-week recess and will not return to session until April 17. This means there will be no more confirmations for nearly three weeks.

As of March 30, there are 99 Article III vacancies, 73 of which are current. There are 36 pending nominees: 18 waiting for floor votes, 12 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 6 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 119 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.