The Federal Bench – Annual Report 2023

Article III Judgeships

The vast majority of federal judges are Article III judges, so named for the third article of the Constitution, which created them in the early days of the republic. They include the nine justices on the Supreme Court, plus the circuit judges serving in 13 appellate courts, the district judges serving in 94 district level trial courts, and the judges who serve on the U.S. Court of International Trade. In fiscal year (FY) 2023, there were 179 circuit judges, 673 district judges, and nine judges on the Court of International Trade. The court system currently has a shortage of Article III judges, and the Judicial Conference of the United States asked Congress in early 2023 to establish an additional 68 such judgeships.

Article III judges are appointed to lifetime terms after they are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, following a process established by Article II of the Constitution. They can be removed from office through the impeachment process. Congress also has established federal courts and judgeships under Article I of the Constitution. They include U.S. magistrate judges and judges who serve in the territorial, federal claims, bankruptcy, and tax courts.

Article III Vacancies, Nominations, and Confirmations

As of Dec. 31, 2023, there were 59 Article III judgeship vacancies: four in the courts of appeals, 53 in the district courts (17 of which were designated as judicial emergencies as defined by Conference policy), and two on the Court of International Trade. In addition, 28 future vacancies were announced (due to a judge announcing a retirement date), two in the courts of appeals and 26 in the district courts. A total of 28 Article III judgeship nominations were pending: four in the courts of appeals, 22 in the district courts, and two in the Court of International Trade. During the first session of the 118th Congress (calendar year 2023), 11 circuit judges and 58 district judges were confirmed.

Senior Judges

In 2023, 520 senior judges served in the courts of appeals, the district courts, and the Court of International Trade, providing vital assistance in courts with large, sustained caseloads. The number of cases filed in the courts of appeals and district courts has grown substantially since 1990, the last year that comprehensive judgeship legislation was enacted.

Nationwide, during the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2023, senior Article III judges participated in 24 percent of all courts of appeals cases that were terminated after oral hearing or submission on briefs. In the district courts, senior judges closed 19 percent of all criminal cases and civil cases that were terminated, and they conducted 27 percent of all completed trials.

Visiting Judges

Visiting judges provide short-term assistance to courts with high caseloads, both between circuits and among court districts within a circuit. The work of visiting judges is facilitated by the Conference’s Committee on Intercircuit Assignments. In FY 2023, the committee recommended, and the Chief Justice approved, 182 intercircuit assignments of Article III judges. The committee also reviewed and concurred with 20 intercircuit assignments of magistrate judges and 17 intercircuit assignments of bankruptcy judges. For the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2023:

• Visiting Article III judges participated in 1,792 appeals closed after an oral hearing or on briefs. They closed 712 civil cases and closed matters involving 1,058 criminal defendants.
• Visiting magistrate judges terminated two civil cases with the consent of the parties.
• In the bankruptcy courts, judges reported providing 4,275 hours of visiting judge assistance.

Bankruptcy Judges

The Conference conducts assessments of the circuits every two years to gather information about where additional bankruptcy judgeships are needed. The assessments examine each court’s workload and case filing statistics, geographic needs, and other relevant factors that the Conference uses in drafting its requests to Congress for additional judgeships, conversions of temporary judgeships to permanent status, or extensions of temporary judgeships.

Congress has created temporary bankruptcy judgeships to address immediate workload needs when it is reluctant to establish permanent judgeships. Of the 345 total bankruptcy judgeships currently authorized by law, 29 are temporary. A temporary judgeship is typically authorized for five years from the day a judge is sworn into office.

In May 2023, the Conference asked Congress to convert seven temporary judgeships in the District of Delaware to permanent status.

Magistrate Judges

Magistrate judges perform indispensable work for the Judiciary. In 2023, there were 562 full-time magistrate judges serving the Judiciary. There were also 25 part-time magistrate judge positions, two combination clerk of court/magistrate judge positions, and 80 retired magistrate judges serving on recall, with several authorized to serve in multiple districts.

During the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2023, magistrate judges:

• Conducted 473,153 felony preliminary proceedings, including search warrants, initial appearances, detention hearings, preliminary proceedings, and arraignments. They also disposed of Class A misdemeanor and petty cases involving 29,578 defendants.
• Disposed of 16,766 civil cases with the consent of the parties and conducted 18,824 settlement conferences in civil cases.

Biannual Meetings of the Judicial Conference

The Judicial Conference of the United States is the national policy-making body for the federal Judiciary. The Chief Justice is the presiding officer. In 2023, the Conference met on March 14  and Sept. 12 at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. Reports of the Conference’s meetings are published on the Judiciary’s website.

New Judicial Conference Committee Chairs

Judicial Conference committees make policy recommendations to the Conference in a variety of areas, such as information technology, probation and pretrial services, space and facilities, security, the budget, defender services, court administration, and rules of practice and procedure. The Chief Justice has sole authority to make committee appointments.

The Executive Committee is the senior executive arm of the Conference, with responsibilities that include acting on behalf of the Conference between sessions on matters requiring emergency action and preparing proposed consent and discussion calendars for Conference meetings.

In 2023, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., named seven new chairs of Judicial Conference committees and extended the term of six current chairs by one year. The appointments took effect Oct. 1, 2023.

• Bankruptcy Judge Julie A. Manning (District of Connecticut) succeeded Judge Kevin Michael Moore (Southern District of Florida) as chair of the Committee on Audits and Administrative Office Accountability.
• Judge William L. Osteen, Jr., (Middle District of North Carolina) succeeded Chief Judge Sara L. Darrow (Central District of Illinois) as chair of the Committee on the Administration of the Bankruptcy System.
• Judge Edmond E. Chang (Northern District of Illinois) succeeded Judge Randolph D. Moss (District Court for the District of Columbia) as chair of the Committee on Criminal Law.
• Judge Cathy Seibel (Southern District of New York) succeeded Judge Micaela Alvarez (Southern District of Texas) as chair of the Committee on Defender Services.
• Judge Darrin P. Gayles (Southern District of Florida) succeeded Judge D. Michael Fisher (Third Circuit) as chair of the Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction.
• Chief Judge Beth Phillips (Western District of Missouri) succeeded Judge David L. Bunning (Eastern District of Kentucky) as chair of the Committee on Financial Disclosure.
• Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis (Eastern District of New York) was extended for another year as chair of the Committee on Intercircuit Assignments.
• Judge William B. Traxler, Jr., (Fourth Circuit) was extended for one year as chair of the Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability.
• Judge Brian S. Miller (Eastern District of Arkansas) was extended for one year as chair of the Committee on Judicial Resources.
• Judge John D. Bates (District Court for the District of Columbia) was extended for one year as chair of the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure.
• Judge Jay S. Bybee (Ninth Circuit) was extended for one year as chair of the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules.
• Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz (District of Minnesota) was extended for one year as chair of the Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules.
• Judge Glenn T. Suddaby (Northern District of New York) succeeded Judge Jeffrey J. Helmick (Northern District of Ohio) as chair of the Committee on Space and Facilities.