A second US judge has revoked his decision to take senior status after Donald Trump won the presidential election, according to a report by Reuters. The federal judge, Max Cogburn, had announced in 2022 that he planned to retire upon confirmation of a successor. However, President Joe Biden was unable to nominate anyone to fill the seat before the deadline.
Cogburn’s decision comes after another jurist, Algenon Marbley, withdrew his plans to take senior status just days after Trump’s election victory. Cogburn, 73, will remain in active service and keep his name on the federal judiciary’s official list of judges who planned to vacate their seats at future dates.
Senior judges typically have reduced caseloads but continue to hear cases without formally retiring. The reversal is seen as a strategic move by the judge, considering that research shows judges often time their decisions to take senior status for when the White House is occupied by a president of the same party that appointed them.
Biden’s inability to fill Cogburn’s seat resulted in a missed opportunity to diversify the federal bench in North Carolina. The Western District has never had a woman or person of color serve as a life-tenured judge before.
In related news, another jurist, Frank Whitney, has taken senior status and will be effective Sunday.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/second-us-judge-revokes-decision-create-judicial-vacancy-after-trumps-win-2024-11-29