United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

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Notices & Announcements

Circuit Judge Kathleen M. O’Malley Retires from the Federal Circuit

March 14, 2022

The Honorable Kathleen M. O’Malley retired from judicial service on March 11, 2022.  Judge O’Malley began her service on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on December 27, 2010, following her appointment by President Barack Obama and confirmation by the Senate.  Prior to her appointment, Judge O’Malley served for sixteen years as a district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.  Judge O’Malley’s full biography is now available on the Federal Judicial Center’s website.

Celebrating Women’s History Month at the Federal Circuit

March 11, 2022

On Thursday, March 10, 2022, the Federal Circuit celebrated Women’s History Month hosting an all-female judge panel to discuss their careers and personal history with court staff. 

Pictured from left to right: Judge O’Malley, Judge Newman, Chief Judge Moore, Judge Prost, Judge Stoll, Judge Cunningham

Clerk’s Office Earns Award and Certification for Operational Efficiencies

March 8, 2022

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is pleased to share that its Clerk’s Office was recently awarded and certified for its innovative process efficiencies and quality improvements by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Government Division, an organization that objectively evaluates the quality of government operations. The silver-level award certifies that the Clerk’s Office was assessed under the ASQ/ANSI G1:2021 Guidelines for Evaluating the Quality of Government Operations and Services and reflects the office’s systematic use of the standard’s system and process maturity models to improve services over a two-year period.  As part of these enhancements, the Clerk’s Office has also greatly reduced internal processing times for cases.  The full article highlighting this achievement by the Clerk’s Office is available at the U.S. Courts website.

The Clerk’s Office of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is the first government organization to seek and attain award-level validation and certification of the maturity of their key operational processes and systems under the G1 standard.

Notice of Resumption of In-Person Arguments for the March 2022 Session

February 15, 2022

Due to changing public health conditions in the National Capital Region, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will resume in-person arguments for the March 2022 court sitting.  Attendance remains limited to arguing counsel and one necessary attendee.  All attendees must adhere to the court’s Revised Protocols for In-Person Arguments, including providing proof of negative COVID-19 test results as outlined in the protocols.

Rescheduling of the 2022 Judicial Conference

January 25, 2022

After careful consideration, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has decided to reschedule its 2022 Judicial Conference from April 1 to September 9, 2022. Additional information about the conference will be available later this year.

Due to this scheduling change, the Federal Circuit will no longer sit for arguments on September 9, 2022. An updated session calendar will be posted on the the court’s website.

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

January 18, 2022

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

January 18, 2022

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.