U.S. Judge Tells Biden She’ll Leave Her Seat, Opening Vacancy

U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts wasted no time telling the newly inaugurated President Joe Biden she planned to vacate her seat on the Eastern District of Michigan by taking senior status.

Roberts, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, sent a letter to the new administration Wednesday announcing her decision. She has spent more than 22 years as a federal judge.

Roberts’ decision to take senior status is something Biden will need a lot more judges to do in order for him to make an impact on the federal courts. Senior status is a form of semi-retirement afforded to judges that allows them to preside over cases without being considered an active judge.

President Donald Trump, with the help of the Republican-led Senate, made over 230 federal judicial appointments, filling over a quarter of the federal judiciary. That leaves Biden with few judicial vacancies, especially at the appeals court level where Trump, at one point, had filled every seat.

In an email sent to clerks and staff just minutes after Biden became president at noon, Roberts thanked her staff and told them she wanted them to be “among the first to know” of her decision.

“I chose wisely. Each of you contributed mightily to the success of my judicial career. You took your oath to ‘well and faithfully discharge the duties’ of your office, the same oath President Biden took today. I cannot thank you enough,” Roberts said in the email obtained by Bloomberg Law.

In total, Biden begins his administration with about 50 judicial vacancies. According to the Federal Judicial Center, there are currently two appeals court vacancies, 45 district court vacancies, and three future vacancies on trial courts. Roberts creates a fourth future vacancy.

Biden will also have another seat to fill on the D.C. Circuit should Merrick Garland be confirmed as attorney general.

Trump, by contrast, began his administration with about 106 federal judicial vacancies.