FedCircuitBlog

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today we highlight:

• an article reporting how the Federal Circuit “heard oral arguments in the Weymouth Kirkland Courtroom of the University of Chicago Law School” last week, “giving students, faculty, and other members of the community a chance to see the court in action”;
• an article highlighting how, “[f]ollowing the U.S. Supreme Court’s denial of Judge Pauline Newman’s petition for certiorari in June, the Chief Justice of the United States has transferred Newman’s judicial misconduct case to the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Council”;
• an article commenting on how “Chief Justice John Roberts has handed 99-year-old U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman a lifeline in her yearslong fight against a suspension imposed by her colleagues, transferring the judicial disability dispute to a federal appeals court”; and
• an article noting how “[i]t took over three years, but the judicial conduct complaint against Judge Pauline Newman has finally left the building.”

The Federal Circuit did not issue any opinions this morning in recognition of Columbus Day.

This morning, the Federal Circuit released two nonprecedential opinions and one nonprecedential order. Both opinions come in cases involving personnel actions appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board. The order dismisses an appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Here are the introductions to the opinions along with a link to the order.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today we highlight:

• an article noting how, “out of the nation’s 13 federal appeals courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is a remarkable outlier, having sent just one of its former clerks on to the chambers of a Supreme Court justice”;
• an article discussing discussing how this week the Supreme Court “considered whether federal district courts have the authority to hear certain constitutional challenges to laws affecting veterans’ benefits and, if they do, what types of constitutional challenges fall into this category”; and
• an article reporting how, after “Judge Clevenger, 89, retired Friday after 36 years on the bench,” “[h]is former clerks and fellow judges all zeroed in on his intelligence, level of preparation for each case and discerning eye, which they say will be missed at the court.”

This morning, the Federal Circuit released three nonprecedential opinions, two dismissals, and one Rule 36 summary affirmance. One of the opinions comes in a case appealed from the Court of Federal Claims, one comes in a case appealed from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and one comes in a case appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board. Here are the introductions to the opinions along with links to the dismissals and summary affirmance.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, the Court held its first conference of the 2026 Term, which resulted in the Court denying twenty-one petitions, as discussed below. There are currently no cases pending before the Supreme Court that were previously decided by the Federal Circuit. As for petitions, since our last update, one new petition was filed in a government contract case; one waiver of the right to respond to a petition was filed in a patent case; amicus briefs were filed in a veterans case, an employment case, and a patent case; and, as mentioned, the Court denied twenty-one petitions. Here are the details.

This morning, the Federal Circuit released four nonprecedential opinions. Two of the opinions come in veterans cases appealed from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, one comes in a patent case appealed from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and one comes in a military records correction case appealed from the Court of Federal Claims. Here are the introductions to the opinions.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit. As for the only pending en banc case, which relates to the President’s Article II removal powers, since our last update the petitioner filed their reply brief. As for pending petitions for en banc rehearing, one new petition was filed in a pro se case raising questions about claim construction. The court also denied two petitions in cases that raised questions about appellate procedure and the enablement and written description requirements. Here are the details.

An Eleventh Circuit order issued today granted Judge Newman’s request to make prior orders in her judicial misconduct case public. Notably, today’s order states that on August 19, 2026, Chief Judge Roberts transferred her case from the Federal Circuit to the Eleventh Circuit. Among the many interesting aspects of this decision by Chief Judge Roberts, it comes on the heals of the Supreme Court’s decision on June 15, 2026, to deny review of a D.C. Circuit judgment rejecting Judge Newman’s challenge to the Federal Circuit’s handling of her case. For more information on today’s development, here are reports by several news agencies. We will report more as more information becomes available.

This morning, the Federal Circuit released one nonprecedential opinion and two nonprecedential orders. The opinion comes in a government contract case appealed from the Court of Federal Claims. As for today’s orders: one grants a petition for a writ of mandamus ordering transfer from the Western District of Texas to the Northern District of California, while the other dismisses an appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Here are the introductions to the opinion and mandamus order, as well as a link to the dismissal.