Private: Judicial Nominations Roundup for July 10, 2015

by Caroline Cox

On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Kara Farnandez Stoll with a 95-0 vote for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved her nomination in April, and her confirmation will make her the first minority woman to serve on the Federal Circuit.

 The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on three judicial nominees on Thursday. The Committee voted to send the nominations of Luis Felipe Restrepo, to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Travis Randall McDonough, to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr., to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, to the Senate for confirmation votes.

The large number of judicial vacancies continue to make it difficult for federal courts to adequately conduct business and deliver justice. Carl Tobias, the Williams Chair in Law at the University of Richmond, urges the Senate to fill the vacancies on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims at The Hill, and the blog for the Alliance for Justice examines how Texas has become the epicenter of the judicial vacancy crisis.

There are currently 62 vacancies, and 27 are now considered judicial emergencies. There are 17 pending nominees. For more information see judicialnominations.org.

Importance of the Courts, Judicial Selection