First-year judicial appointments since 1981 – Ballotpedia News

Welcome to Friday March 5th, Brew. Here’s what awaits you at the start of your day:

  1. Appointment of federal judges in the first year of presidency since 1981
  2. Upcoming elections and registration deadlines
  3. RSVP to our Administrative State Lunch Club

Appointment of federal judges in the first year of presidency since 1981

President Joe Biden (D) has not made any state appointments. No president returned to Ronald Reagan (R) until March 1 of his first year in office.

Back to Reagan, the earliest time a president would appoint an Article III judge in his first year was April. President Donald Trump (R) Supreme Court candidate Neil Gorsuch took office on April 10, 2017. Without the Supreme Court appointments, Trump and George HW Bush (R) made their first Article III judicial appointments by June 1 of their first year of presidency.

Earlier this week, we looked at the number of active and senior federal judges broken down after the president was appointed. Today I highlight another feature of our court record: the appointment of federal judges in the first year of office of every president since 1981. We record data on our website for the last six presidents.

For refresher, Article III federal judges include judges at the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Appeals Courts, U.S. District Courts, and Court of International Trade. The President appoints these judges and the Senate approves them.

Reagan made the most Article III appointments in his freshman year, at 41. President Barack Obama (D) made the fewest at 13.

Trump made the most appointments over four years at 234. Reagan did the fewest at 166.

Since 1981, during the first year of every President:

  • Presidents Trump, Obama, Bill Clinton (D) and Reagan each appointed a Supreme Court judge. George W. Bush (R) and George HW Bush did not appoint Supreme Court justices in their freshman year.
  • On An average of six judges were appointed to US appeals courts. Trump appointed the most at 12 and Clinton and Obama the least at three each.
  • On An average of 17 judges were appointed to US district courts. Reagan appointed the most at 32 and Trump the least appointed at six.

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Upcoming elections and registration deadlines

It’s easy to forget how many elections happen in an odd year, especially after a year of federal races. Ballotpedia’s 2021 election coverage includes local elections in 76 cities and 23 counties, general elections in New Jersey and Virginia, and at least three special congressional elections.

Over the next two weeks, four states will have filing deadlines for certain local and state elections. Six states will hold elections. Here is a summary of that data:

Upcoming elections

Five states have recall, local or state elections next week. Louisiana will hold several special elections the following week.

Tuesday March 9th

  • Arizona: Phoenix General Runoff
  • California: Orange County Board of Supervisors District 2 Special General
  • Georgia: House District 90 Special General
  • Idaho:
    • Idaho Falls Schools Board recall
    • Pocatello-Chubbuck School Board recalled
    • Recall of the Nampa school board
  • Maine: Senate District 14 Special General

A runoff for the School Board of Birmingham, District 7, Alabama, was also scheduled for March 9, but Walter Wilson won the January 26 general election.

Saturday 20th March

  • Louisiana
    • House District 82 Special Elementary School
    • 2nd Court of Appeal District 1 special primary
    • Special schools primary and secondary level
    • 2nd District Special General
    • 5th District Special General

A special elementary school for the seat of the 2nd Court of Appeals in District 2 has been canceled because only one candidate was filed. A special general election for State House District 35 was also scheduled for March 20, but only one candidate signed up for the primary, so both elections were canceled.

Upcoming registration deadlines

Candidates are required to submit documents, pay the required fees, and / or submit signed petitions to their local or state electoral authorities by the registration deadlines. The submission requirements vary depending on the federal state. Four states have filing deadlines within the next two weeks.

Friday March 5th:

  • Nebraska:
    • Lincoln
      • The deadline for non-incumbent candidates from Lincoln Public Schools was March 1.
    • Omaha Mayor

Tuesday, March 9th:

  • Pennsylvania:
    • State-wide filing dates, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
      • No special elections to State House District 59 and State Senate District 48 (registration deadline March 29)

Friday March 12th

Thursday March 18th

  • Oregon:
    • Multnomah County
    • Eight school districts

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RSVP to our Administrative State Lunch Club

Would you like to learn more about the issues and debates surrounding the administrative state? Join Ballotpedia for the Administrative State Lunch Club.

Ballotpedia’s state team meets every two weeks on Mondays at 12:30 p.m. ET to discuss an influential scientific article or historical court decision. The purpose of the call is to deepen our understanding of the administrative state. Join these discussions or just listen as we read historical court decisions that have broken new ground and articles that shape the dialogue about the governing state.

Regardless of whether you are new to the subject or an experienced expert, you are very welcome at the Administrative State Lunch Club. Each session begins with an exemplary presentation of the article and its main points and ends with a discussion of how it intersects with the administrative state debate. We provide links to reading material and page numbers, although no preparation is required.

The upcoming readings include:

  • March 15: How Much Process Is It Required for Agencies to Change “Novel” Regulatory Policies? by Ming Hsu Chen
  • March 29: operationalization of internal administrative law by Christopher J. Walker and Rebecca Turnbull
  • April 12: The Indecision of 1789: Strategic Ambiguity and the Imaginary Unified Executive (Part I) by Jed Shugerman

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