A seat on the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and two judgeships with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia remain vacant, as reported in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. All of the three positions have been vacant for at least a year, with one of the District Court judgeship having been vacant for 31 months. The vacancies have been declared "judicial emergencies" by the U.S. Courts.
On January 26, 2011, President Obama nominated U.S. Magistrate Judge, Linda Walker, and Natasha Perdew Silas, a Federal public defender in Atlanta, for the District Court judgeships. If confirmed by the Senate, they would become the first African-American women District Court judges in the Northern District. Georgia’s Senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, have given blue slips of approval for Judge Walker, but have not for Ms. Silas. The failure to give Ms. Silas a blue slip effectively blocks the Senate from voting to confirm her. The failure has caused friction between the White House, which views Judge Walker and Silas as a package nomination, and Congressional Republicans.
The Eleventh Circuit vacancy is the result of the retirement of Justice Stanley Birch, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990, in August of 2010. The White House has not nominated any replacement for Justice Birch.