The United States Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit was established under Article
III of the Constitution on October 1, 1982. The
court was formed by the merger of the United
States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and
the appellate division of the United States
Court of Claims. The court is located in the
Howard T. Markey National Courts Building on
historic Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C.
The Federal Circuit is unique among the
thirteen Circuit Courts of Appeals. It has
nationwide jurisdiction in a variety of subject
areas, including international trade,
government contracts, patents, trademarks,
certain money claims against the United States
government, federal personnel, and veterans'
benefits. Appeals to the court come from all
federal district courts, the United States
Court of Federal Claims, the United States
Court of International Trade, and the United
States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
The court also takes appeals of certain
administrative agencies' decisions, including
the United States Merit Systems Protection
Board, the Boards of Contract Appeals, the
Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, and
the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board.
Decisions of the United States International
Trade Commission, the Office of Compliance of
the United States Congress and the Government
Accountability Office Personnel Appeals Board
are also reviewed by the court.The court's
jurisdiction consists of administrative law
cases (55%), intellectual property cases (31%),
and cases involving money damages against the
United States government (11%). The
administrative law cases consist of personnel
and veterans claims. Nearly all of the
intellectual property cases involve patents.
Suits for money damages against the United
States government include government contract
cases, tax refund appeals, unlawful takings,
and civilian and military pay cases.
The court consists of twelve judges who are appointed by
the President, with the advice and consent of
the Senate. Judges are appointed to the court
for life under Article III of the Constitution
of the United States. When eligible, judges may
elect to take senior status, which allows them
to continue to serve on the court while
handling fewer cases than a judge in active
service. Each judge in active service employs a
judicial assistant and three law clerks, while
each judge in senior status employs a judicial
assistant and one law clerk.
Title 28 of the United States Code, the Federal
Rules of Appellate Procedure and the court's
Local Rules and
Internal Operating
Procedures govern procedure in the Federal
Circuit. Appeals are heard by panels comprised
of three judges who are selected randomly for
assignment to the panels. Losing parties may
seek review of a decision of the Federal
Circuit in the U.S. Supreme Court of the United
States.
Court sessions are
generally held during the first week of each
month in Washington, D.C. The court is also
authorized to hear cases in other cities
throughout the United States to meet the needs
of litigants in other parts of the country. The
court has sat at many other
cities during its existence.
The court's work begins when an appeal is filed
with the Clerk of the Court, and assigned a
docket number. The parties to the cases then
prepare and file written briefs setting forth
their arguments. Parties also may submit
materials such as transcripts of testimony and
other relevant parts of the record made in the
lower tribunal from which the appeal
originated. Once all the briefs have been
received, the case may then be scheduled for
oral argument before the court. Each side is
usually allotted between 15 and 30 minutes for
argument, depending on the nature of the case.
During oral argument, the lawyers for the
parties present their arguments and answer
questions of the judges concerning the issues
presented. If the court determines that oral
argument is unnecessary, the case is decided by
a panel of judges based on the arguments
presented in briefs. In each appeal, the
presiding judge of the panel assigns a member
of the panel to prepare the court's opinion. The
opinion sets out the decision of the court and
the reasons for the decision. If the panel
determines that its decision will add
significantly to a body of law, it issues a
precedential opinion. Decisions that do not add
significantly to the body of law are issued as
non-precedential. All opinions are made
available to the public, and may be obtained
upon written request to the Clerk's Office.
Other sources of the court's opinions include
the court's Home Page on the Internet the Federal
Reporter 3rd Series, Westlaw® and
Lexis®.
The senior staff of the court consists of the
Circuit Executive and Clerk of Court, Senior
Technical Assistant, Senior Staff Attorney,
Circuit Librarian, Assistant Circuit Executive
for Administrative Services, and Assistant
Circuit Executive for Information Technology.
|