Robe & Gavel: SCOTUS Begins First Week Of February 2024 Sitting

Welcome to the Feb. 5 edition of Robe & Gavel, Ballotpedia’s newsletter about the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and other judicial happenings around the U.S.

We are back by popular demand, dear readers. And we have a brand new batch of federal court updates to dish out. We hope you’re ready. Grab a seat, and let’s gavel on in!

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Grants

SCOTUS has accepted one new case for its 2024-2025 term since our Jan. 15 issue. To date, the court has agreed to hear two cases for the 2024-2025 term. 

Click the links below to learn more about these cases:

• Glossip v. Oklahoma originated from the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals and concerns the Due process clause.

Arguments

The Supreme Court will hear one argument this week. Click here to read more about SCOTUS’ current term.

Click the links below to learn more about these cases:

Feb. 8

• Trump v. Anderson concerns the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision barring former President Donald Trump (R) from the state’s presidential primary ballot.
  • The questions presented: “Did the Colorado Supreme Court err in ordering President Trump excluded from the 2024 presidential primary ballot?”

In its October 2022 term, SCOTUS heard arguments in 60 cases. One case was dismissed. Click here to read more about SCOTUS’ previous term.

Upcoming SCOTUS dates

Here are the court’s upcoming dates of interest:

• Feb. 8: SCOTUS will hear arguments in one case.

Federal court action

Nominations

On Jan. 10, President Joe Biden (D) announced six new Article III nominees.

• Amir Ali, to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
• Melissa DuBose, to the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island

• Sunil Harjani, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• Rebecca Kanter, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of California
• Robert White, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
• Jasmine Yoon, to the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia

Committee action

The Senate Judiciary Committee has reported 20 new nominees out of committee since our Jan. 15 edition.

• Seth Aframe, to the United States Circuit Court for the First Circuit
• Nicole Therner, to the United States Circuit Court for the Fourth Circuit
• Joshua Kolar, to the United States Circuit Court for the Seventh Circuit
• Adeel Mangi, to the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit
• Jacquelyn Austin, to the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina
• Amy Baggio, to the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
• Jacqueline Becerra, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
• Cristal Brisco, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
• Melissa Damian, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
• Mustafa Kasubhai, to the United States District Court for the District of Oregon
• Edward Kiel, to the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
• Eumi Lee, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
• David Leibowitz, to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
• Gretchen Lund, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
• Sarah Russell, to the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
• Kirk Sherriff, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
• Julie Sneed, to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
• Joseph Laroski, to the United States Court of International Trade
• Lisa Wang, to the United States Court of International Trade
• Ramona Villagomez Manglona, to the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands

Confirmations

The Senate has confirmed six nominees since our Jan. 15 issue.

• Cristal Brisco, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
• Jacquelyn Austin, to the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina
• Joshua Kolar, to the United States Circuit Court for the Seventh Circuit
• Kirk Sherriff, to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
• Karoline Mehalchick, to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
• Gretchen Lund, to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

Vacancies

The federal judiciary currently has 57 vacancies, 56 of which are for lifetime Article III judgeships. As of publication, there were 26 pending nominations.

According to the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, there are 32 upcoming vacancies in the federal judiciary, where judges have announced their intention to leave active judicial status.

For more information on judicial vacancies during President Biden’t term, click here.

Do you love judicial nomination, confirmation, and vacancy information? We figured you might. Our monthly Federal Vacancy Count monitors all the faces and places moving in, moving out, and moving on in the federal judiciary. Click here for our most current count.

Need a daily fix of judicial nomination, confirmation, and vacancy information? Click here for continuing updates on the status of all federal judicial nominees.

Or, keep an eye on our list for updates on federal judicial nominations.

Correction: In our Jan. 15 edition of Robe & Gavel, there was an error in our Grants section. We stated, “SCOTUS accepted five new cases to its merits docket since Jan. 8. To date, the court has agreed to hear 61 cases for the 2023-2024 term.”

Four new cases will be argued during the 2023-2024 term. One case (Williams v. Washington) will be argued during the 2024-2025 term. To date, the court has agreed to hear 60 cases for its 2023-2024 term. SCOTUS dismissed one case after it was accepted. We regret the error.

Looking ahead

We’ll be back on Feb. 12 with a new edition of Robe & Gavel. Until then, gaveling out! 

Contributions

Myj Saintyl compiled and edited this newsletter, with contributions from Sam Post, and Ellie Mikus.

Produced in association with Ballotpedia