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OLP works with the Attorney General in advising the President on nominations for Article III judgeships. After the President has submitted a nomination to the Senate, OLP works with the White House and the Senate Judiciary Committee in securing the nominee's confirmation. The data on this site provide an overview of the nomination and confirmation activity relating to each Congress since the 107th.
107th Congress
During the 107th Congress
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As of the end of the 107th Congress:
60 = Vacancies in the
862-member Article III federal judiciary, at the end of the
107th Congress.
31 = Nominations
returned at end of 107th Congress.
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* These numbers only include Article III courts. The President nominated
6 people to the Article I federal claims court, one of whom was confirmed.
Click here for a chart
comparing confirmation rates during the first two years of recent
administrations
Click here for a chart comparing
the number of returned nominations in the first two years of recent
administrations
Complete list of nominations from
the 107th Congress.
Complete list of confirmed nominees from
the 107th Congress.
25 of the 60 vacancies were so-called "judicial
emergency" vacancies. At the end of the 107th Congress,
there were 18 nominees pending against positions designated as "judicial
emergency" vacancies.
No nominations were rejected by the Senate, and no nominations
were withdrawn at the request of the nominee or the President during
the 107th Congress.
Blue Slips
A blue slip is the traditional method of allowing the home state
senators of a judicial nominee to express their approval or disapproval.
Blue slips are generally given substantial weight by the Judiciary
Committee in its consideration of a judicial nominee. The process
dates back several decades and is grounded in the tradition of "senatorial
courtesy," which traces its roots back to the presidency of George
Washington.
Status of Blue Slips during
the 107th Congress.
Judicial Emergency:
The formula by which a judicial vacancy is determined to be a "judicial
emergency" has been changed by the Administrative Office of the
U.S. Courts effective December 2001, to identify courts where vacancies
have resulted in only one active judge.
The formula now used is:
Any vacancy in a district court where weighted filings are in
excess of 600 per judgeship; OR any vacancy in existence
more than 18 months where weighted filings are between 430 to 600
per judgeship; OR any court with more than one authorized
judgeship and only one active judge;
AND
Any vacancy in a court of appeals where adjusted filings per panel
are in excess of 700; OR any vacancy in existence more than
18 months where adjusted filings are between 500 to 700 per panel.
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