Notices & Announcements

Notice of Revised Building Access Restrictions and Protocols for In-Person Argument

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims have entered a new joint order modifying and superseding their prior administrative order of October 25, 2021, concerning access to the National Courts Building complex in Washington, D.C. The order maintains existing access restrictions, adds additional building-wide masking requirements, and clarifies that those participating in hearings are subject to additional requirements each court may impose.

Except for necessary access for hearing participation, which is covered by the court’s Revised Protocols for In-Person Argument, requests for access relating to all other Federal Circuit business or spaces within the National Courts Building must be submitted in writing through the Facilities and Security Office, which will be handled on a case-by-case basis and must be submitted in writing at least 24 hours ahead of time. These restrictions will remain in effect until further notice. The full administrative order is available on the court’s website (pdf).

Consistent with the updated administrative order, the Federal Circuit has also issued new Revised Protocols for In-Person Argument that will apply once the court resumes in-person arguments. The new revised protocols update requirements for masking, attendance limitations, and health certifications.

To review ongoing updates and information about the Federal Circuit’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please go to the court’s COVID-19 information page.

Notice of Change to February 2022 Session

Due to changing public health conditions impacting the National Capital Region, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will now be conducting all scheduled arguments for the February 2022 session by video conference. The Clerk’s Office will be separately notifying counsel in all impacted cases and providing additional instructions.

For technical reasons, only arguing counsel will be permitted to access the video argument, and the court will not entertain any motions to expand access to the video conferences beyond arguing counsel. The court will continue to livestream argument audio of each argument. Audio recordings of all arguments will continue to be available on the court’s website after the conclusion of arguments each day.

Notice of Change to January 2022 Session

Due to changing public health conditions impacting the National Capital Region, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will now be conducting all scheduled arguments for the January 2022 session by telephonic hearing.

The Clerk’s Office will be individually notifying counsel scheduled for the January session of this change and providing additional instructions.

Notice of New Revised Protocols for In-Person Argument

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued Revised Protocols for In-Person Argument (pdf) that will apply to the January 2022 court sitting and subsequent sittings until further notice.  Based on the Revised Protocols, the court has also updated the Certification of Compliance (Form 33A) (pdf) required to be filed ahead of time for all arguing counsel, as well as implemented an additional health screening requirement and required documentation for all attending in-person arguments.  These materials are available on the court’s website.

The Clerk’s Office will be individually notifying counsel scheduled for the January and February session of these new requirements and their need to submit new Certifications of Compliance.