President Barack Obama has said he wants judges who are sympathetic to the vulnerable and powerless.
When will change come?
If you wonder how quickly the new Obama administration can rebalance the philosophical bent of the lower federal courts, consider some statistics.
In his eight years in office, President George W. Bush filled 67 of the 179 judgeships on the 13 courts of appeals — around 37.4 percent — and numerically and proportionally more in the district courts.
Looking ahead, as of January 21, 2009, existing and future vacancies on the courts of appeals total 15 of the judgeships and on the district court bench come to 50 (out of 674) — about 8.4 and 7.4 percent, respectively. (For details, see below.) And the Federal Judiciary proposes adding 11 new courts of appeals slots and 47 more district judgeships — which proposal, if Congress approves it, will give President Obama the ability in short order to seat 26 out of 190 circuit judges (13.7 percent) and 97 of 721 district judges (13.45 percent).
That looks like an opportunity for relatively swift change. (Eight years at a 13+ percent replacement rate would swap out virtually all of the circuit and district judges.) But how much change depends on who President Obama nominates and the Senate approves — and how long the process takes.
Now for circuit-by-circui numbers.
The U.S. Courts website reports the following 65 current and pending vacancies as of January 21, 2009:
First Circuit
Court of Appeals: One
District Courts: One (D.R.I.)
Second Circuit
Court of Appeals: One
District Courts: Three (E.D.N.Y., S.D.N.Y., and W.D.N.Y.)
Third Circuit
Court of Appeals: Two
District Courts: Three (D. Del., M.D. Pa., and W.D. Pa.)
Fourth Circuit
Court of Appeals: Four
District Courts: Six (D. Md., E.D.N.C., M.D.N.C., E.D. Va., N.D. W. Va., and S.D. W. Va.)
Fifth Circuit
Court of Appeals: One
District Courts: Six (E.D. La., W.D. La., S.D. Miss., S.D. Tex., and W.D. Tex.(2))
Sixth Circuit
Court of Appeals: One
District Courts: Three (E.D. Mich., S.D. Ohio, and M.D. Tenn.)
Seventh Circuit
Court of Appeals: One
District Courts: Four (N.D. Ill., N.D. Ind., S.D. Ind., and W.D. Wisc.)
Eighth Circuit
Court of Appeals: None
District Courts: Three (E.D. Ark., W.D. Ark., and D.S.D.)
Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals: One
District Courts: Eight (C.D. Cal. (3), E.D. Cal., N.D. Cal. (2), D. Or., and E.D. Wash.)
Tenth Circuit
Court of Appeals: None
District Courts: One (D. Wy.)
Eleventh Circuit
Court of Appeals: One
District Courts: Four (N.D. Fla., M.D. Ga., and N.D. Ga. (2))
District of Columbia Circuit
Court of Appeals: Two
District Courts: Three (D.D.C.)
Federal Circuit
Court of Appeals: None
District Courts: Not applicable
