United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, or simply the Federal Circuit, was founded in 1982 to combine similar federal cases to a specialized appellate court.

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295, the Federal Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over:

• Article I tribunals:
  • United States Court of Federal Claims
  • United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims
  • United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
  • United States Board of Appeals and Interferences of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
  • Boards of Contract Appeals (for government contracts)
  • United States Merit Systems Protection Board (federal employment and employment benefits)
  • United States International Trade Commission

• Article III tribunals:
  • United States Court of International Trade
  • United States District Courts (for patent and certain other appeals)

The Federal Circuit is the only judicial circuit that has its jurisdiction based wholly on subject matter rather than geographical location. It hears all appeals from United States district courts arising from non-tort monetary complaints against the federal government under $10,000 (the "Little Tucker Act"). It also hears all appeals from any of the United States district courts where the original action included a complaint arising under the patent laws, but not if the patent claims arose solely as counter-claims by the defendant (Holmes Group, Inc. v. Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc., 2002).^[1] Though other appellate courts can now hear patents claims in theory, this has not happened often.

The court meets in Washington, D.C., and occupies the Howard T. Markey National Courts Building, the Tayloe House, the former Cosmos Club, and the Dolley Madison House.

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 44, all judges of the Federal Circuit are required to reside within 50 miles (80 km) of the District of Columbia while sitting on the court.

Contents 1 Current composition of the court 2 Pending nominations 3 List of former judges 4 Chief judges 5 Succession of seats 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links 11 Navigation

[edit] Current composition of the court

As of Kimberly Ann Moore's inauguration on September 8, 2006,^[2] the judges on the court are:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
20	Chief Judge	Paul Redmond Michel	Washington, DC	1941	1988–present	2004–present	—	Reagan
16	Circuit Judge	Pauline Newman	Washington, DC	1927	1984–present	—	—	Reagan
19	Circuit Judge	Haldane Robert Mayer	Washington, DC	1941	1987–present	1997–2004	—	Reagan
22	Circuit Judge	Alan David Lourie	Washington, DC	1935	1990–present	—	—	G.H.W. Bush
24	Circuit Judge	Randall Ray Rader	Washington, DC	1949	1990–present	—	—	G.H.W. Bush
25	Circuit Judge	Alvin Anthony Schall	Washington, DC	1944	1992–present	—	—	G.H.W. Bush
26	Circuit Judge	William Curtis Bryson	Washington, DC	1945	1994–present	—	—	Clinton
27	Circuit Judge	Arthur J. Gajarsa	Washington, DC	1941	1997–present	—	—	Clinton
28	Circuit Judge	Richard Linn	Washington, DC	1944	1999–present	—	—	Clinton
29	Circuit Judge	Timothy B. Dyk	Washington, DC	1937	2000–present	—	—	Clinton
30	Circuit Judge	Sharon Prost	Washington, DC	1951	2001–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
31	Circuit Judge	Kimberly Ann Moore	Washington, DC	1968	2006–present	—	—	G.W. Bush
5	Senior Circuit Judge	Arnold Wilson Cowen	(inactive)	1905	(none)	(none)	1982–present	[3]
13	Senior Circuit Judge	Daniel Mortimer Friedman	Washington, DC	1916	1982–1989	(none)	1989–present	[3]
18	Senior Circuit Judge	Glenn Leroy Archer, Jr.	Washington, DC	1929	1985–1997	1994–1997	1997–present	Reagan
21	Senior Circuit Judge	S. Jay Plager	Washington, DC	1931	1989–2000	(none)	2000–present	G.H.W. Bush
23	Senior Circuit Judge	Raymond Charles Clevenger III	Washington, DC	1937	1990–2006[4]	(none)	2006–present	G.H.W. Bush

[edit] Pending nominations

• There are no vacancies pending.

[edit] List of former judges

#	Judge	State	Born/Died	Term of service			Appointed by	Reason for termination
				Active	Chief	Senior
1	Don Nelson Laramore	IN	1906–1989	(none)	(none)	1982–1989	[3]	death
2	Giles Sutherland Rich	NY	1904–1999	1982–1999	(none)	(none)	[5]	death
3	James Lindsay Almond, Jr.	VA	1898–1986	(none)	(none)	1982–1986	[5]	death
4	Oscar Hirsh Davis	DC	1914–1988	1982–1988	(none)	(none)	[3]	death
6	Philip Nichols, Jr.	DC	1907–1990	1982–1983	(none)	1983–1990	[3]	death
7	Byron George Skelton	TX	1905–2004	(none)	(none)	1982–2004	[3]	death
8	Phillip Benjamin Baldwin	TX	1924–2002	1982–1986	(none)	1986–1991	[5]	retirement
9	Howard Thomas Markey	IL	1920–2006	1982–1991	1982–1990	(none)	[5]	retirement
10	Marion Tinsley Bennett	MO	1914–2000	1982–1986	(none)	1986–2000	[3]	death
11	Shiro Kashiwa	HI	1912–1998	1982–1986	(none)	(none)	[3]	retirement
12	Jack Richard Miller	IA	1916–1994	1982–1985	(none)	1985–1994	[5]	death
14	Edward Samuel Smith	MD	1919–2001	1982–1989	(none)	1989–2001	[3]	death
15	Helen Wilson Nies	DC	1925–1996	1982–1995	1990–1994	1995–1996	[5]	death
17	Jean Galloway Bissell	SC	1936–1990	1984–1990	(none)	(none)	Reagan	death

[edit] Chief judges

Chief Judges Markey 1982–1990 Nies 1990–1994 Archer 1994–1997 Mayer 1997–2004 Michel 2004–present

In order to qualify for the office of Chief Judge, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as Chief Judge. A vacancy in the office of Chief Judge is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The Chief Judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position. Unlike the Chief Justice of the United States, a Chief Judge returns to active service after the expiration of his or her term and does not create a vacancy on the bench by the fact of his or her promotion. See 28 U.S.C. § 45.

The above rules have applied since October 1, 1982. The office of Chief Judge was created in 1948 and until August 6, 1959 was filled by the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire on what has since 1958 been known as senior status or declined to serve as Chief Judge. From then until 1982 it was filled by the senior such judge who had not turned 70.

[edit] Succession of seats

The court has twelve seats for active judges, numbered in alphabetical order by their occupant at the time the court was formed, with the sole vacant seat being numbered last. Judges who retire into senior status remain on the bench but leave their seat vacant. That seat is filled by the next circuit judge appointed by the President.

Seat 1 Reassigned on April 2, 1982 from the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals by 96 Stat. 25 Baldwin 1982–1986 Michel 1988–present

Seat 2 Reassigned on April 2, 1982 from the United States Court of Claims by 96 Stat. 25 Bennett 1982–1986 Mayer 1987–present

Seat 3 Reassigned on April 2, 1982 from the United States Court of Claims by 96 Stat. 25 Davis 1982–1988 Clevenger 1990–2006 Moore 2006–present

Seat 4 Reassigned on April 2, 1982 from the United States Court of Claims by 96 Stat. 25 Kashiwa 1982–1986 Plager 1989–2000 Prost 2001–present

Seat 5 Reassigned on April 2, 1982 from the United States Court of Claims by 96 Stat. 25 Friedman 1982–1989 Lourie 1990–present

Seat 6 Reassigned on April 2, 1982 from the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals by 96 Stat. 25 Markey 1982–1990 Bryson 1994–present

Seat 7 Reassigned on April 2, 1982 from the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals by 96 Stat. 25 Miller 1982–1985 Archer 1985–1997 Dyk 2000–present

Seat 8 Reassigned on April 2, 1982 from the United States Court of Claims by 96 Stat. 25 Nichols 1982–1983 Newman 1984–present

Seat 9 Reassigned on April 2, 1982 from the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals by 96 Stat. 25 Nies 1982–1995 Gajarsa 1997–present

Seat 10 Reassigned on April 2, 1982 from the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals by 96 Stat. 25 Rich 1982–1999 Linn 1999–present

Seat 11 Reassigned on April 2, 1982 from the United States Court of Claims by 96 Stat. 25 Smith 1982–1989 Schall 1992–present

Seat 12 Established on April 2, 1982 by 96 Stat. 25 Bissell 1984–1990 Rader 1990–present

[edit] See also

• Federal Circuit Bar Association
• Federal judicial appointment history#Federal Circuit

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Possible amendment to eliminate this provision was proposed on June 16, 2005 in House bill 109 H.R. 2955.
2. ^ Judge Kimberly A. Moore Joins the Federal Circuit. Official website of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Retrieved on 2006-09-08.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Reassigned from the United States Court of Claims pursuant to the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982, 96 Stat. 25.
4. ^ Federal Judiciary - Judicial Vacancies. Official website of the Alliance for Justice. Retrieved on March 16, 2006.
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Reassigned from the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals pursuant to the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982, 96 Stat. 25.

[edit] References

• Judicial Biographies. Official website of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Retrieved on June 1, 2005.
  • source for Judge Cowen being inactive
• Standard Search. Federal Law Clerk Information System. Retrieved on June 1, 2005.
  • source for the duty stations for senior judges
• U. S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Official website of the Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved on May 26, 2005.
  • source for the state, lifetime, term of active judgeship, term of chief judgeship, term of senior judgeship, appointer, termination reason, and seat information

[edit] Further reading

• (1991) The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: A History, 1982–1990. Washington, D.C.: United States Judicial Conference Committee on the Bicentennial of the Constitution of the United States.
• (2004) United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: A History: 1990–2002 / compiled by members of the Advisory Council to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in celebration of the court's twentieth anniversary.. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

[edit] External links

• United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Recent opinions from Findlaw
• The Federal Circuit Bar Association
• The Federal Circuit Historical Society
• Federal Judicial Center page on the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982

[edit] Navigation

United States courts of appeals
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