LINCOLN - U.S. District Judge John Gerrard has announced that he will transition to senior judge status by next year, creating a vacancy on the federal bench in Nebraska to be filled by President Joe Biden.

Gerrard, in a letter Monday to the president, wrote that he will continue to “render substantial judicial service” because of a heavy caseload in Nebraska and because there are only three active federal judges.

He also urged the president to make a "timely appointment" of a successor and added that he was confident Nebraska's two Republican U.S. senators, Deb Fischer, and Ben Sasse, will work with the Democratic President.

“Nebraska has a long history of promptly filling vacancies on the federal bench,” Gerrard said in a press release.

Gerrard declined to comment when asked whether the timing of his announcement was related to the possibility that the U.S. Senate could flip from Democratic control to Republican after the 2022 election.

Then-President Barack Obama appointed Gerrard, 68, to the bench and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2012 on a 74-16 vote.

Previously, Gerrard had served on the Nebraska Supreme Court from 1995 to 2012 after being appointed by then-Governor Ben Nelson.

Gerrard was in private practice in Norfolk, Nebraska prior to becoming a judge.

He said he is "still healthy, alive, well, and judging" and that his departure is solely due to his age; an age that other judges have made similar transitions at.

The U.S. District Court retains two senior judges, Richard Kopf and Joseph Bataillon.

Gerrard said he will continue with his current caseload until February 2023 when he will make the final transition.

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