The Federal Bench – Annual Report 2024

Article III Judgeships

The vast majority of federal judges are Article III judges, so named for the third article of the Constitution that 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) 2024, there were 179 circuit judges, 673 district judges, and nine judges on the Court of International Trade.

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 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 December 31, 2024, there were 37 Article III judgeship vacancies, two in the courts of appeals and 35 in the district courts (21 of which were designated as judicial emergencies as defined by Conference policy). In addition, eight future vacancies were announced (when a judge announces a retirement date), two in the courts of appeals and six in the district courts. A total of seven Article III judgeship nominations were pending, three in the courts of appeals and four in the district courts. During the second session of the 118th Congress (calendar year 2024), six circuit judges and 63 district judges were confirmed.

Senior Judges

In fiscal year 2024, 515 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. Nationwide, during the 12 months ending September 30, 2024, senior Article III judges participated in 20 percent of all courts of appeals cases that were terminated after oral hearing or submission on briefs. In the district courts, senior judges closed 15 percent of all criminal cases and civil cases that were terminated, and conducted 25 percent of all completed trials.

Visiting Judges

Visiting judges are judges from one court who serve on a temporary basis in another court. They provide short-term assistance to courts with high caseloads and other workload issues, including recusals. The work of visiting judges is facilitated by the Committee on Intercircuit Assignments of the Judicial Conference of the United States.

In FY 2024, the committee recommended, and the Chief Justice approved, 143 intercircuit assignments of Article III judges. The committee also reviewed and concurred with 15 intercircuit assignments of magistrate judges and 19 intercircuit assignments of bankruptcy judges. For the 12 months ending September 30, 2024, visiting judges accomplished the following:

• Visiting Article III judges participated in 1,810 appeals closed after an oral hearing or on briefs. They closed 608 civil cases and closed matters involving 1,519 criminal defendants.
• Visiting magistrate judges terminated one civil case with the consent of the parties.
• In the bankruptcy courts, visiting judges provided 4,556 hours of 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, and 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 September 2024, the Conference recommended that Congress preserve all currently authorized bankruptcy judgeships. In December 2024, the Conference transmitted to Congress its biennial report on the continuing need for bankruptcy judgeships, which included the Conference recommendation.

Magistrate Judges

Magistrate judges perform indispensable work for the Judiciary. In FY 2024, there were 563 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 86 retired magistrate judges serving on recall, with several authorized to serve in multiple districts.

During the 12 months ending September 30, 2024, magistrate judges accomplished the following:

• Conducted 536,780 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 42,116 defendants.
• Disposed of 17,374 civil cases with the consent of the parties and conducted 21,269 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 2024, the Conference met on March 12 and September 17 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, 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. Sixth Circuit Chief Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton chaired the Executive Committee in 2024.

Also in 2024, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. named five new chairs of Judicial Conference committees and extended the term of five current chairs by one year. The appointments took effect on October 1, 2024:

• Judge Robert J. Jonker (Western District of Michigan) succeeded Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod (Fifth Circuit) as chair of the Committee on Codes of Conduct.
• Judge Michael Y. Scudder (Seventh Circuit) was extended for one year as chair of the Committee on Information Technology.
• Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis (Eastern District of New York) was extended for one 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 Nancy L. Moritz (Tenth Circuit) succeeded Judge Brian S. Miller (Eastern District of Arkansas) as chair of the Committee on Judicial Resources.
• Judge Richard J. Sullivan (Second Circuit) was extended for one year as chair of the Committee on Judicial Security.
• Judge Nancy E. Brasel (District of Minnesota) succeeded Judge Marcia Morales Howard (Middle District of Florida) as chair of the Committee on the Administration of the Magistrate Judges System.
• Judge John D. Bates (District of the District of Columbia) was extended for one year as chair of the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure.
• Judge Allison H. Eid (Tenth Circuit) succeeded Judge Jay S. Bybee (Ninth Circuit) as chair of the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules.
• Judge Jesse M. Furman (Southern District of New York) succeeded Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz (District of Minnesota) as chair of the Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules.