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1 1 (March 5, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/govesqe0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional *.Research Service U.S. Circuit Court Vacancies at the Beginning of New Presidencies: Historical Overview and Analysis March 5, 2025 This Insight provides a historical overview and analysis of U.S. circuit court vacancies that existed at the beginning of each new presidency since 1993. This period includes the first year of the Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, and Biden presidencies, as well as the first year of each of President Trump's nonconsecutive terms in office. Presidential appointments to U.S. circuit courts are particularly consequential because, with the exception of the relatively small number of cases for which the Supreme Court grants certiorari, decisions by circuit courts represent the final word for tens of thousands of cases each year. Additionally, while Congress has authorized 673 district court judgeships, there are relatively fewer circuit court judgeships. Altogether, Congress has authorized 179 suchjudgeships (167 for the regional courts of appeals and 12 for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit). Given that there are nearly four times as many district court judgeships as circuit court judgeships, there tend to be fewer opportunities for a President to make circuit court appointments. Consequently, the number of circuit court vacancies inherited by a President when he assumes office influences the overall number of appointment opportunities he has during his presidency, especially during his first year in office. U.S. Circuit Court Vacancies at the Beginning of New Presidencies (1993- 2025) Figure 1 provides information related to the number and geographic location of circuit court vacancies that existed on January 20 at the beginning of each new presidency from 1993 to 2025. During this period, there were, on average, approximately 13 circuit court vacancies at the beginning of a new presidency (with a median of 15 vacancies). Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN12518 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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