Warren Urbom, senior district judge, announces plans to retire (Nixon 1970)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130823/NEWS/130829452/1707#warren-urbom-senior-district-judge-announces-plans-to-retire

By Martha Stoddard / World-Herald Bureau

LINCOLN — U.S. Senior District Judge Warren Urbom has announced plans to end more than four decades on the federal bench in April.

He will be 88 by then. Urbom has been on senior judge status, taking only a limited number of cases, since 1991.

In a letter to President Barack Obama Wednesday, Urbom said he is targeting April 25 as the date of his retirement. That would be 44 years to the day from his appointment.

He was named to the bench by former President Richard Nixon on April 25, 1970.

FULL story at link.

[LiberalAndProud]

1. My daughter interviewed Judge Urbom in 1997 for a class project.

He had already retired from the bench, but continued to hear cases because replacements hadn't been appointed yet for three vacant district judge seats. Here we are in 2013 and he continues to hear cases because vacancies have not been filled. It's a cost cutting measure I suspect, as retired federal judges continue to receive full salary after retirement.

[Tx4obama]

3. Even when all seats in district/circuit are filled many semi-retired judges remain in senior status

... with that district or circuit..

Senior status

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senior_status

Here is an example below...

Eighth Circuit

All eleven seats are filled,
and nine former seat holders are in senior semi-retirement status

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Eighth_Circuit#Current_composition_of_the_court

Edited to add...

Btw, there are no vacant seats in Urboms district all three are filled: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Nebraska

[Tx4obama]

2. He assumed senior status on December 31, 1990 - therefore there will be NO seat to fill.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Nebraska

Seats of senior (semi-retired) judges do not get appointments - appointments are made only when they originally leave their seat.

He used to have Seat #2 - which has been filled twice since his going into senior status...

Seat 2
T. Munger 1907–1941
Delehant 1942–1957
Van Pelt 1957–1970
Urbom 1970–1990
Kopf 1992–2011
Gerrard 2012–present

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Nebraska#Succession_of_seats