Maryland's senators and Obama's transition team are already discussing how the open seats might be filled. Mikulski has created a committee to oversee recommendations, Sachs said. In a prepared statement, Mikulski stressed that she wanted Judge Murnaghan's empty seat filled by someone with "strong ties to Maryland and its legal community."
By tradition, the 4th Circuit's seats are filled according to the population of the five states it represents, though the balance has begun to shift. Currently, Maryland representatives have two spots, Virginia and South Carolina hold three, West Virginia has two, and North Carolina has just one. There's no rule forcing the president to replace Murnaghan with another Marylander, though it's expected.
Speculation is already swirling in the legal community about who might get the Maryland spot. Among the names is U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis, who was nominated to the 4th Circuit in 2000 by President Bill Clinton, but never confirmed. He would have been the court's first African-American judge; two African-Americans have since been confirmed to the court. Maryland Appeals Court Judge Lynne A. Battaglia is also mentioned as a contender, along with U.S. District Court Judge Catherine C. Blake.
Obama's transition team did not respond to a request for comment on the issue of nominations. No one knows what he will do, or how quickly he will act. Judicial nominations aren't typically a high priority for a new administration, but his legal background could bump it up on the agenda, some said.
"The big question is, you know, how much would the 4th Circuit new appointees change the court," Tobias said. "And that's something we don't know yet."
senior status
Over the next eight years, all of Maryland's U.S. District Court judges will become eligible for senior status, having reached the age of 65 and served 15 years on the bench. It's a kind of active retirement that allows them to receive their salaries and work as much or as little as they'd like. Their seats become vacant if they accept it.
2007 -- J. Frederick Motz
2012 -- Benson E. Legg
2013 -- Deborah K. Chasanow, Roger W. Titus, Alexander Williams Jr.
2014 -- Andre M. Davis
2015 -- Richard D. Bennett, Catherine C. Blake
2016 -- William D. Quarles Jr.
SOURCE: Maryland U.S. attorney's office
the 4th circuit
Of the 11 sitting 4th Circuit Court of Appeals judges, six were nominated by Republican presidents and five by a Democrat: :
J. Harvie Wilkinson III by Ronald Reagan
Karen J. Williams by George H. W. Bush
Paul V. Niemeyer by George H. W. Bush
M. Blane Michael by Bill Clinton
Diana Gribbon Motz by Bill Clinton
William B. Traxler Jr. by Bill Clinton
Robert B. King by Bill Clinton
Roger L. Gregory by Bill Clinton
Dennis W. Shedd by George W. Bush
Allyson K. Duncan by George W. Bush
G. Steven Agee by George W. Bush
SOURCE: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
