Sunday, March 01, 2026

March 2026 Judiciary News

Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:

Overview:  Ed Whelan asks four big questions on judicial appointments in 2026, including how many vacancies there will be on the Supreme Court, appeals courts, and district courts.

Overview:  Russell Wheeler gives an overview of Trump's first year of judicial nominations, comparing it with first years of other recent presidents.

Calendar:  Mike Fragoso explains that due to the Senate calendar, any judge who wants to see a successor confirmed this year should retire soon.

Red states:  There are still 18 vacant district court seats without nominees in red states (two R senators), including seven in Texas, two each in FL, LA, OH, and OK, and one each in AL, AK, and TN.  Mike Fragoso argues that the blue slip is not to blame, while Mike Davis argues that some R senators are to blame.

Vacancies:  After several months with no circuit court vacancies, three circuit judges announced that they will take senior status within a week.  They are Chief judge Jeffrey Sutton (6th Circuit), Chief judge Debra Ann Livingston (2nd Circuit), and judge Timothy Tymkovich (10th Circuit).  All three were appointed by W, in 2003, 2007, and 2003, respectively.

8th Circuit:  President Trump nominated Justin Smith for the 8th Circuit.  He was Trump's personal attorney, and also chief of staff to Senator Eric Schmitt.  He would replace Judge Duane Benton, who will take senior status.

Relatives:  President Trump has nominated children of two 8th Circuit judges to district courts.  Megan Benton, nominee for WD-MO, is the daughter of Duane Benton.  John Shepherd, nominee for WD-AR, is the son of Bobby Shepherd.

Nominations:
TBD

The Federal Judiciary:

Supreme Court:  The media reported on a 'study' claiming that the Supreme Court favors the rich over the poor.  The methodology of the study is laughable terrible, as it automatically classifies all government regulations as pro-poor.  It categorizes abortion regulations as anti-rich, and includes several factual errors.

Supreme Court:  The court instituted nondisclosure agreements for Supreme Court employees.  The left is complaining about this without acknowledging the threats and assassination attempt following the leak of the Dobbs abortion opinion.

Science:  The Federal Judicial Center published a Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence that is heavy on climate alarmism.  After protests by West Virginia AG JB McCuskey and others, the climate section was withdrawn.

D-MA:  Judge Mark Wolf retired in November at age 79, claiming that he needed to be able to speak out against President Trump.  However, at that time he was under investigation.  Judge David Barron (1st Circuit) "found “probable cause” to believe the judge engaged in misconduct by creating a hostile workplace for employees".  Interviews with employees provide more details on the allegations.

D-MD:  Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby (D-MD) created an environment that “resulted in an abusive workplace".  She acknowledged this in an order signed by Chief Judge Albert Diaz (4th Circuit).

ED-MI:  Judge Thomas Ludington crashed his car due to being 'super drunk' last fall.  He faces trial on May 8.

Vacancy Declarations:  There are now 46 current and future judicial vacancies.  New vacancies over the past two months are listed below.
WD-WI: James D. Peterson (Obama) TBD (senior)
6th Circuit: Jeffrey Sutton (W) 10/1/26 (senior)
2nd Circuit: Debra Ann Livingston (W) 7/1/26 (senior)
10th Circuit: Timothy Tymkovich (W) TBD (senior)

State Supreme Courts:

Arkansas:  Two seats on the Arkansas Supreme Court are up for election on March 3.  Justices Nick Bronni and Cody Hiland, both appointed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders to fill vacancies, are running for each others' seats to avoid a prohibition on appointees running for their own seats.
Position 3: Justice Nick Bronni (R) faces John Adams.
Position 6: Justice Cody Hiland (R) is unopposed.

Colorado:  Governor Jared Polis (D) appointed Susan Blanco to the Colorado Supreme Court.  She became a district judge in January 2017.  She was one of three finalists for the seat.  She replaces justice Melissa Hart, who resigned on January 5, 2026.  

Delaware:  Delaware Supreme Court Justice Karen Valihura (R) will not seek reappointment when her term ends on July 25.  She was appointed in 2014.  Her successor must be a Republican.

Florida:  Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Adam Tanenbaum to the Florida Supreme Court.  Tanenbaum was previously appointed to the 1st District Court of Appeal by DeSantis in 2019.  He replaces justice Charles Canady, who resigned.  There were 10 applicants and 6 finalists for the position.

Illinois:  Justice Mary Jane Theis (D) retired from the Illinois Supreme Court on January 29.  She was appointed to the court in 2010.  The court appointed First District Appellate Court Justice Sanjay Tailor to fill her seat.  He became a judge in 2003 and a circuit judge in 2022.

New Hampshire:  Governor Kelly Ayotte appointed Superior Court Justice Daniel Will to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.  Governor Chris Sununu appointed Will as solicitor general in 2018, and to his current post in 2021.  He was confirmed 4-1 by the Executive Council, over opposition from Executive Councilor David Wheeler (R) due to Will's advocacy for state COVID restrictions.  He  replaces Hantz Marconi, who was age-limited on February 12.

North Dakota:  Governor Kelly Armstrong (R) appointed Mark Friese to the North Dakota Supreme Court.  He works in private practice.  He was one of 12 applicants and 6 finalists for the position.  He replaces Justice Daniel Crothers, who retired on February 28.  

Rhode Island:  Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg will retire on March 27.  She was appointed by Lincoln Almond (R) in 1997.  Rhode Island is the only state with lifetime tenure for Supreme Court judges.

Tennessee:  Governor Bill Lee (R) appointed appeals court judges Kyle Hixson to the Tennessee Supreme Court.  Lee previously appointed Hixson to the Knox County Criminal Court in 2019 and to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in 2022.  He was one of three finalists for the seat of Justice Holly Kirby, who will retire on June 30, 2026.

Texas:  Bloomberg notes that Governor Greg Abbott has appointed three US Supreme Court clerks to the Texas Supreme Court.

Utah:  Governor Spencer Cox signed a bill to add two justices to the Utah Supreme Court.  This expands the court from 5 to 7 justices.  Governor Cox will appoint the new justices.

Vermont:  Governor Phil Scott (R) appointed Christina Nolan and Michael Drescher to the Vermont Supreme Court.  They replace Justices Karen Russell Carroll and William Cohen, who retired.  Nolan clerked for F. Dennis Saylor IV (D-MA) was US Attorney (D-VT) 2017-21 and ran for US Senate in 2022.  Drescher clerked for Fred I. Parker (2nd Circuit) served as an AUSA and interim US Attorney (D-VT).  Drescher's nomination was controversial due to his representation of the Trump administration on immigration cases, and was only confirmed due to LG John Rodgers breaking a tie vote.

Washington:  Justice Barbara Madsen will retire on April 3.  She was first elected to the court in 1993.  Governor Bob Ferguson (D) will appoint her replacement.

Wisconsin:  A seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court is up for election on April 7.  Incumbent Rebecca Bradley (R) is retiring.  The candidates are Appeals Court Judges Chris Taylor (D) and Maria Lazar (R).

History:

On Ed Whelan's Substack, "Confirmation Tales", recent posts deal with George W. Bush's nominations of lower court judges and Barack Obama's nominations.
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