Month: September 2021

Judge Lucy Koh – Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

This is Judge Lucy Koh’s second chance at a Ninth Circuit seat, having first been nominated by President Obama but never confirmed. With a Democratic Senate, Koh’s chances look significantly better this time around.

Background

Born August 7, 1968 in Washington D.C., Koh grew up in Maryland, Mississippi, and Oklahoma before attending Harvard University and Harvard Law School. After graduating from law school, Koh worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington D.C. and then for the U.S. Department of Justice.

In 1997, Koh became a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. She left this post in 2000 to become a Senior Associate with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Palo Alto and in 2002, became a Partner with McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

In 2008, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Koh to the Santa Clara Superior Court. In 2010, President Obama appointed Koh to replace Judge Ronald Whyte on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

On February 25, 2016, Obama nominated Koh to the Ninth Circuit to replace Judge Harry Pregerson. Despite the Senate being controlled by Republicans, the Senate Judiciary Committee favorably reported Koh’s nomination to the Senate floor on September 20, 2021. However, Koh never received a final vote of confirmation and the seat was later filled by Trump appointee Daniel Collins. Koh remains a judge on the Northern District of California.

History of the Seat

Koh has been nominated for a California seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. This seat will open when Judge Richard Paez takes senior status upon the confirmation of his successor.

Writings and Statements

While a student at Harvard, Koh both wrote and advocated on more diversity in hiring and academia, organizing a 1989 rally to promote the hiring of female and minority faculty. See, e.g., Campus Life: Harvard: The Flames of Student Protest Still Flicker, N.Y. Times, Mar. 19, 1989; see also Lucy Koh, Combatting Inequity, Public Interest Job Search Guide (Harvard Law School 6th ed. 1995). Koh continued her advocacy on this issue through law school. See Elizabeth A. Brown, Harvard Law School Sued, Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 26, 1990.

Legal Experience

Before joining the bench, Koh worked in a variety of positions, including in government, as a prosecutor, and in private practice. Throughout this time, Koh tried seven cases as either sole or co-counsel, three before juries, and four before judges. Among these trials, Koh led the prosecution of four defendants for a telemarketing fraud that cost $5 million to consumers, leading to the conviction of all four. United States v. Stapleton, SA CR-99-47(A)-GLT (C.D. Cal.).

On the appellate side, while in private practice, Koh successfully convinced the en banc Federal Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn prior precedent and place the burden of proof for willful patent infringement on challengers rather than defendants. See In re Seagate Technology, LLC, 497 F.3d 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (en banc).

Jurisprudence

In 2008, Koh was appointed to the Santa Clara Superior Court, where she presided over 19 cases to verdict/judgment, including fourteen jury trials. Among her more notable cases, Koh presided over a jury trial on molesting a child and indecent exposure. People v. Valdovinos, No. CC805147 (Cal. Super. Ct. 2008).

Since 2010, Koh has served as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of California. In this role, Koh has handled a number of high profile cases. Most notably, Koh presided over a lawsuit filed by Apple alleging that Samsung infringed on its patents in making its galaxy phone. Apple, Inc. v. Samsung Electronics, Inc., 137 S. Ct. 429 (2016). A jury found that Samsung had willfully infringed on Apple’s patents and ordered over $1 billion in damages. However, Koh ordered a retrial, finding that the jury had miscalculated damages and denied Apple’s motion for an injunction stopping sales of Samsung phones, a decision reversed by the Federal Circuit. See Apple, Inc. v. Samsung Electronics, Inc., 678 F.3d 1314 (Fed. Cir. 2012). The case ended up with the Supreme Court, which unanimously reversed the jury ruling and remanded. A second jury later also found in Apple’s favor.

More recently, Koh presided over litigation regarding the Trump Administration’s September 30 deadline for conducting the U.S. Census, issuing a preliminary injunction requiring an extension to the census deadline. The Ninth Circuit later, in a 2-1 vote, declined to disturb the injunction.

Overall Assessment

The first time Koh came before the U.S. Senate for confirmation, she was confirmed unanimously. When nominated for the Ninth Circuit in 2016, Koh was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a bipartisan majority. As such, Koh can be optimistic the third time around. Of the three California nominees put forward for the Ninth Circuit, Koh remains the most likely to get bipartisan support although it would still be unlikely for Koh to get more than 5-6 Republican votes. Nonetheless, one can expect Koh to be confirmed by the end of the year.

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Judge Jennifer L. Thurston – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California

The Eastern District of California is one of the most heavily overworked courts in the country. The Court has not been expanded in decades, even as caseloads explode, and has relied heavily on senior judges to carry the burden. With the court scheduled to be down to half its judgeships next year, President Biden has nominated Chief Magistrate Judge Jennifer Thurston to the Court.

Background

Thurston received her B.Sc. from California State University in 1989 and her J.D. in 1997 from the California Pacific School of Law. She then joined the Office of the County Counsel in Kern County.

In 2009, Thurston was appointed to be a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of California, where she currently serves as Chief Magistrate.

History of the Seat

Thurston has been nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, to a seat vacated on February 2, 2020 by Judge Lawrence O’Neill. On June 18, 2020, the Trump Administration nominated Sacramento Superior Court Judge James Arguelles to replace O’Neill, but Arguelles was not confirmed before the end of the 116th Congress.

Legal Experience

Thurston spent her entire career before becoming a judge at the Office of the Kern County Counsel in Bakersfield. In this role, Thurston litigated child dependency proceedings, which sought to limit or terminate parental rights in cases of child abuse and neglect. See, e.g., In re Baby Boy H., 63 Cal. App. 4th 470 (1998). For example, Thurston represented the County on appeal challenging a trial judge’s ruling that step-siblings and other “legal” sibling relationships do not fall under the definition of siblings under California reunification law. See In re Tanyann W., 97 Cal. App. 4th 675 (2002). The California Court of Appeals, however, disagreed, finding that the term “sibling” should be given its ordinary meaning, referring to children with parents in common. See id. at 677.

In other matters, Thurston defended the County against a class action suit alleging that the Kern County Sheriff’s Department conducted strip and body cavity searches of prisoners. See Lopez v. Youngblood, 609 F. Supp. 2d 1125 (E.D. Cal. 2009).

Jurisprudence

Since 2009, Thurston has served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge. In this role, she presides by consent over civil matters and misdemeanors, assists district judges with discovery and settlement, and writes reports and recommendations on legal issues. Among the matters she handled on the bench, Thurston reversed an ALJ determination that a man with a seizure disorder and degenerative disc disease not disabled by law. See Terrezas v. Astrue, 726 F. Supp. 2d 1139 (E.D. Cal. 2010).

In other matters, Thurston granted a motion for summary adjudication in favor of an insurance company arguing that it had no duty to defend an employer from a state court suit brought by an employee who was impaled by a gate during his work. See Imperium Ins. Co. v. Unigard Ins. Co., 16 F. Supp. 3d 1 (E.D. Cal. 2014).

As with most district and magistrate judges, Thurston has had reversals of her decisions. One notable reversal was from her grant of summary judgment in favor of Kern County against a lawsuit by a prisoner alleging inappropriate conduct and sexual harassment from a corrections officer. See Vazquez v. City of Kern, 949 F.3d 1153 (9th Cir. 2020). In reversing, the Ninth Circuit found that the alleged conduct arose to the level of a Constitutional violation and that the officer was not entitled to qualified immunity. Id. at 1160.

Writings

In 2019, Thurston authored a law review article discussing the lack of diversity among the federal magistrate bench. See Jennifer L. Thurston, Black Robes, White Judges: The Lack of Diversity On the Magistrate Judge Bench, 82 Law & Contemp. Prob. 63 (2019). In the article, Thurston discusses the composition of magistrate judges across the country as well as the value of diversity on the bench, noting:

“…diversity does not assure fairness any more than a lack of diversity assures unfairness. The color of the judge’s skin, whether the judge grew up in poverty, sleeps with a person of the same gender, has a strong political identity, or regularly attends church, does not ensure that the judge will rule in favor of a litigant who has a similar background. To suggest otherwise sorely ignores judges’ commitment to the dictates of the law.” Id. at 70.

She goes on, however, to note that the differing perspectives offered by diversity can nonetheless cause an impact, noting studies indicating that the presence of female judges in cases involving sexual harassment do lead to more favorable outcomes for plaintiffs. See id. at 71. Thurston also notes that diversity is important in the sense that it lends “credibility” to the courts and affects the perception of the bench by those who appear before it. See id. at 72.

Overall Assessment

Having an uncontroversial background and extensive experience as a magistrate judge, Thurston should be a relatively mainstream choice for the federal bench. However, having written on diversity in the federal bench, some may attempt to equate Thurston’s writings to Justice Sotomayor’s then-maligned “wise Latina” comments, and suggest that she is arguing that minority judges rule differently or better than their white counterparts (although such a conclusion is hard to draw from reading the full context of her writing). However, the impact of such arguments is likely to be limited and Thurston is likely to be confirmed by the end of the year.

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Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong – Nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

A longtime consumer protection attorney in private practice and at the Department of Justice, Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong has now been nominated for a seat on the federal bench.

Background

Born in Los Angeles to an immigrant family from Ghana, Frimpong got an B.A. from Harvard University in 1997, and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 2001. After graduating, Frimpong clerked for Judge Stephen Reinhardt on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and then joined Morrison & Foerster as an associate.

In 2007, Frimpong joined the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, rising to become Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, working on consumer protection litigation.

In 2015, Frimpong was named by Gov. Jerry Brown to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where she currently serves.

History of the Seat

Frimpong has been nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California to replace Judge Christina Snyder, who took senior status on November 23, 2016. The Trump Administration had previously nominated Judge Sandy Leal from the Orange County Superior Court to fill this seat, but Leal was never confirmed.

Legal Experience

While she started her career at the big law firm, Morrison & Foerster, Frimpong spent the most significant portion of her career litigating with the Department of Justice in a variety of capacities. For example, as Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Consumer Protection Litigation, Frimpong helped assist with the prosecution of W. Scott Harkonen, the former CEO of Intermune, Inc. who was convicted of wire fraud for dissemination of false and misleading information.

During Frimpong’s tenure, the Second Circuit notably overturned a criminal conviction for promoting the off-label use of drugs, holding that such promotion of otherwise legal off-label use could not lead to criminal penalty. See United States v. Caronia, 703 F.3d 149 (2d Cir. 2012). Shortly after, the Fourth Circuit ruled that violations of FDA Good Manufacturing Practices regulations cannot be the basis for qui tam claims. United States ex rel. Rostholder v. Omnicare, 745 F.3d 694 (4th Cir. 2014). Despite the adverse decisions, Frimpong spoke before the 2013 CBI Pharmaceutical Compliance Congress, stating that cracking down on misbranding, adulteration, and off-label advertising was an essential part of consumer protection.

Jurisprudence

Since 2015, Frimpong has served as a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court. In this role, Frimpong presides over trial court matters in criminal, civil, family, and other state law matters. Among the matters that Frimpong has presided over, she ruled that a bail bondsman could not set aside the forfeiture of a bond after missing the deadline to file a motion to set aside the forfeiture, a ruling affirmed on appeal. See County of LA v. Lexington Nat. Ins. Corp., 2020 WL 830748 (Cal. App. Feb. 20, 2020).

Overall Assessment

Given her experience in private practice, the Department of Justice, and on the state court bench, Frimpong can certainly be deemed qualified for the federal bench. With little in her background that is likely to cause controversy, Frimpong will likely be confirmed by the end of the year.

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Judge Holly Thomas – Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Holly Thomas is, at 41, the youngest of the four nominees to the Ninth Circuit put forward by the Biden Administration. If confirmed, Thomas would likely be a strong future contender for elevation to the Supreme Court.

Background

Thomas received her B.A. with Honors and Distinction from Stanford University in 2000 and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 2004. After graduating from law school, Thomas clerked for Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

After her clerkship, Thomas joined the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund as assistant counsel. In 2010, Thomas moved to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division as an appellate attorney. She left the Department in 2015 to join the New York Solicitor General’s Office.

In 2016, Thomas returned to California to work for the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. In 2018, Thomas was nominated by Gov. Jerry Brown to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where she currently serves.

History of the Seat

Thomas has been nominated for a California seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. While the White House has not announced which seat Thomas is expected to fill on the Court, she may be nominated to replace Judge Richard Paez, who is the only Los Angeles-based judge on the Ninth Circuit taking senior status.

Legal Experience

Before joining the bench, Thomas worked primarily as a civil rights litigator. She started her career at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. At the fund, Thomas was part of the legal team that defended the University of Texas’ admissions policies, which used race as part of a variety of factors in college admissions. See Fisher v. Texas, 556 F. Supp. 2d 603 (W.D. Tex. 2008). The suit eventually ended in the Supreme Court, which upheld the policy. See id., 136 S. Ct. 2198 (2016).

From 2010 to 2015, Thomas worked for the Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Department of Justice. In this role, Thomas represented the United States in suing the Tucson School District over court supervision of a desegregation decree. Fisher v. Tucson Unified Sch. Dist., 652 F.3d 1131 (9th Cir. 2011). She also represented the government as amicus in support of female volleyball players suing Quinnipiac University for violations of Title IX. See Biediger v. Quinnipiac Univ., 691 F.3d 85 (2d Cir. 2012).

In 2015, Thomas left the Department of Justice to join the New York Solicitor General’s Office. During her time with that office, Thomas helped defend New York’s ban on assisted suicide. See Myers v. Schneiderman, 140 A.D.3d 51 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016). She also argued before the Second Circuit arguing that the Eighth Amendment complaint of a state prisoner should be dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies (the Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Robert Katzmann, disagreed). Williams v. Priatno, 829 F.3d 118 (2d Cir. 2016).

Jurisprudence

Since 2018, Thomas has served as a judge on the Los Angeles Superior Court. In this role, Thomas presides over trial court matters in criminal, civil, family, and other state law matters. Among the notable matters she has handled on the court, Thomas dismissed with prejudice a restraining order request by musician Elizabeth le Fey against her ex-boyfriend Sam France, finding that she had failed to disclose a prior restraining order against her by him on her application. Thomas’ ruling attracted criticism from some Los Angeles family lawyers, who noted that le Fey was proceeding without an attorney and that she had disclosed the restraining order in a different place on her application.

Overall Assessment

While Thomas doesn’t have a history of controversial statements, she is nonetheless likely to attract strong opposition for three reasons: first, her comparative youth; second, her history of work as a civil rights attorney; and third, her promise as a future SCOTUS candidate. Nonetheless, Thomas looks favored to win confirmation by the end of the year and to add a liberal voice to the Ninth Circuit.

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Where We Stand: Assessing Vacancies and Nominations in the Federal Judiciary – The West

We are in the August recess, a little more than six months into the Biden Presidency. When President Biden came to office on January 20, 2021, there were 52 current and future vacancies in the federal judiciary. Since that time, an additional 73 vacancies have opened and nine nominees have been confirmed, leaving 116 vacancies pending (including future vacancies). There are currently 26 more judicial nominees pending, meaning that 22% of vacancies have nominees. In comparison, by the August recess of 2017, President Trump had nominees pending for around 20% of vacancies. Given the lull during the recess, now is a good time to look at the landscape of federal judicial nominations: vacancies open; nominations pending; prospective openings. We finish with the states of the West.

Ninth Circuit

Court of Appeals

In terms of the number of judges on the court, the geographic area covered, and the population served, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is the largest in the country. The whopping twenty-nine judgeship court has been the target of many attempts to break it up, ostensibly due to its liberal leanings. Whatever its previous leanings (the Ninth was never as liberal as critics alleged), the current court is fairly evenly divided between liberals and conservatives. The court currently has ten judges appointed by President Trump, nine Clinton appointees, seven Obama appointees, and three Bush appointees. While the court is currently full, four Clinton appointees, Susan Graber, Marsha Berzon, Richard Paez, and William Fletcher, have announced their intention to move to senior status upon confirmation of successors. Only Graber’s seat has a nominee, labor lawyer Jennifer Sung.

Additional vacancies are likely as eight other judges on the court are eligible for senior status: Clinton appointees Sidney Runyan Thomas, Margaret McKeown, Kim McLane Wardlaw, Ronald Gould, and Johnnie Rawlinson; and Bush appointees Consuelo Callahan, Milan Dale Smith, and Sandra Segal Ikuta. Additionally, Obama appointee Andrew Hurwitz will also become eligible for senior status next July. The most likely of these judges to take senior status is Chief Judge Thomas, who may make the move once he concludes his term as Chief on December 1. Of the Bush appointees, the moderate Smith, who will be eighty next year, is the most likely to take senior status.

Alaska

The District of Alaska has three active judgeships, currently filled by Chief Judge Timothy Burgess, a Bush appointee, Judge Sharon Gleason, an Obama appointee, and Judge Joshua Kindred, a Trump appointee. Of the three, only Burgess is eligible for senior status. He is, however, unlikely to move to senior status before his term as Chief ends in 2022.

Arizona

The District of Arizona is one of the most overworked courts in the country, with heavy caseloads. Luckily, after years of chronic vacancies, all judgeships on the court are currently full, with one Bush appointee, seven Obama appointees, and five Trump appointees serving. No vacancy is expected before 2024, when Chief Judge Murray Snow, and Judges Douglas Rayes and James Soto all become eligible for senior status. However, if Judge Andrew Hurwitz moves to senior status upon eligibility next year, Judge Rosemary Marquez may be selected to replace him, opening up a seat for Biden to fill.

California

The nation’s most populous state also has the most district court judgeships serving its population, sixty one, divided into four districts: the Central, Northern, Eastern, and Southern. Despite the high numbers, California’s district courts are, if anything, understaffed in proportion to their caseload. This is particularly true now, as the courts have a whopping 18 vacancies with an additional two set to open next year. California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla have each claimed to have sent recommendations to the White House, but it’s an open question when nominees will hit the senate.

The largest of the four districts is the Central, based in Los Angeles. Currently, the court is served by 22 active judges, eight appointed by Bush, seven by Obama, four by Trump, two by Clinton, and one by Reagan. There are also six vacancies, with the oldest going back to 2015. Additionally, a seventh vacancy will open in February 2022 when Judge Virginia Phillips moves to senior status. Of the remaining 21 judges, nine are eligible for senior status: Reagan appointee Stephen Wilson; Clinton appointee David Carter; Bush appointees Percy Anderson, John Walter, Gary Klausner, Dale Fischer, Otis Wright, and George Wu; and Obama appointee John Kronsdadt. This makes future vacancies on the court fairly likely.

While the Sacramento based Eastern District is, with six judgeships, the smallest in California, it is also severely overworked. This is particularly true as it is currently having only four active judges carry the burden as the remaining two seats are vacant. Unless judges are confirmed swiftly, the situation will get worse next year when Judge John Mendez takes senior status.

The Bay area based Northern District of California has eleven active judges serving, all appointees of President Obama. An additional three seats are vacant. While none of the active judges is eligible for senior status, two, Edward Davila and Edward Chen, will become eligible for senior status next year and may move then.

Finally, the San Diego based Southern District of California is the hardest hit of all the California courts when it comes to vacancies, as seven of the thirteen judgeships are vacant. Of the remaining six active judges, one, Judge Janis Sammartino, is eligible for senior status and could choose to make the move.

Hawaii

The four judgeship District of Hawaii does not currently have any vacancies and no new vacancies are expected, with the first judges to hit senior status eligibility doing so in 2024.

Idaho

One of only two states to be served by just two active judgeships, Idaho is currently at half-capacity with Judge B. Lynn Winmill’s move to senior status in August. Winmill gave plenty of notice of his intention to take senior status, and the Idaho Democratic Party recommended four candidates to replace Winmill in March: Idaho Falls attorney DeAnne Casperson; former U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson; and Boise attorneys Keely Duke and Deborah Ferguson. Idaho Senator Mike Crapo indicated that his office has had many “preliminary” conversations regarding the judgeship with the White House and that they are working to find a mutually agreeable nominee.

Montana

While none of the three active judges in the District of Montana, all Obama appointees, are eligible for senior status, Judge Dana Christensen becomes eligible for senior status in December and may choose to make the move at that time.

Nevada

The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada has two vacancies among its seven judgeships, with the remaining five judges all appointed by President Obama and years from taking senior status. The two pending vacancies on the District Court, one in Reno and one in Las Vegas, are both over three years old. Nevada Senators set up judicial nomination commissions to fill the vacancies with application deadlines of February 28, 2021. Since then, there has been no public recommendations made and the White House has not yet sent any nominations to the Senate.

Oregon

The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon has six active judgeships: three Obama appointees, and one appointee each from Clinton, Bush, and Trump. The Court will have a vacancy open on December 27 of this year when Bush appointed Judge Michael Mosman takes senior status. Clinton appointee Ann Aiken is also eligible for senior status but has made no indication that she intends to take it. So far, there has not been any word on recommendations by Oregon Senators to replace Mosman.

Washington

After an agreement over judicial nominations fell apart during the Trump Administration, Washington’s district courts saw no confirmation over the last four years. As a result, the Western District of Washington now has five vacancies out of seven active judgeships, with one future vacancy set to open on the Eastern District. So far, nominees have been submitted to the Senate for three vacancies on the Western District, and for the lone Eastern District vacancy. All three Western District nominees are awaiting final Senate votes, with Judge David Estudillo being teed up for confirmation in September. So far, there is no timeline on nominees for the remaining two vacancies.

Additionally, the two active judges remaining on the Western District: Judges Richard Jones and Ricardo Martinez, are also eligible for senior status, so additional vacancies may open as the current ones are filled.

Tenth Circuit

Court of Appeals

The Tenth Circuit, based in Denver, is considered a moderate court, evenly divided between five Republican and five Democrat appointed judges, with two vacancies. The Senate is poised to confirm public defender Veronica Rossman to fill a Colorado vacancy on the court in September. The other vacancy, based in Kansas, is still without a nominee.

Of the remaining judges on the court, only Judge Harris Hartz, appointed by President George W. Bush, is eligible for senior status. While Chief Judge Timothy Tymkovich, another Bush appointee, will reach eligibility for senior status in November, he is unlikely to take senior status without serving out his term as Chief in 2022. Additionally, Judge Scott Matheson, an Obama appointee, becomes eligible for senior status at the end of 2022, and may also make the move.

Colorado

The seven judgeship District of Colorado is undergoing a significant transformation, with Biden already having appointed Judge Regina Rodriguez to the court, and having nominated Charlotte Sweeney for a second vacancy. A third vacancy is set to open in 2022 when Judge Christine Arguello moves to senior status. The only other vacancy that could open this Congress could occur when Judge William Martinez reaches eligibility for senior status at the end of 2022.

Kansas

The District of Kansas currently has all six judgeships filled, although Judge Julie Robinson, a George W. Bush appointee, is set to take senior status on January 14, 2022. So far, there has been no public application period or recommendation noted for Robinson’s seat. Judge Eric Melgren, another Bush appointee, also reaches eligibility in 2022 but has so far made no indications of taking senior status.

New Mexico

The seven-judgeship District of New Mexico is one of the busiest courts in the country. The Court currently has two vacancies, with a third set to open with Judge Martha Vazquez’s move to senior status next year. New Mexico Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan submitted nominees to fill the two existing vacancies in January 2021, but so far the White House has only nominated one nominee: Margaret Strickland. Strickland is currently the longest pending judicial nominee waiting on the Senate floor, and, although Majority Leader Schumer filed cloture on three pending nominees before the August recess, he skipped over Strickland.

The situation could potentially become worse as Judge James Browning is also eligible for senior status, although he has not indicated that he will take it. If Browning and Vazquez vacate their seats, this could leave the District of New Mexico with less than half of its allotted judgeships full.

Oklahoma

The Oklahoma District Courts currently have one vacancy, from Judge John Dowdell’s early move to senior status earlier this year. So far, no public process has started to replace Dowdell.

Utah

The five judgeship District of Utah, composed of three Obama appointees and two Trump appointees, will see a vacancy open next year when Judge David Nuffer takes senior status. So far, there is no public replacement process for Judge Nuffer.

Wyoming

The three-judge District of Wyoming already has a vacancy pending, as Judge Nancy Freudenthal has announced her intention to take senior status on June 1, 2022. As Wyoming has no Democrats in the Congressional delegation, the White House will have to work with Republican Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis. During the Obama Administration, Barrasso endorsed and supported Fredeunthal and Chief Judge Scott Skavdahl, but it’s unclear if a similar accommodation would be reached today. Additionally, Judge Alan Johnson, who is 82, and is one of the few actively serving Reagan appointees, may also take senior status, opening up a second vacancy and potentially opening the door to a one-for-one deal.

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