This morning the Federal Circuit released a notice of amendments to the court’s Internal Operating Procedures. Notably, the amendments delete the indication that copies of opinions will be circulated to the court’s “senior technical assistant” who, “if requested . . . shall provide information on potential conflicts between the panel-approved opinion and any other prior opinions of the court or other relevant precedents.” Beyond that amendment, several other amendments relate to the ability of panels to withdraw and recirculate altered opinions. The amendments also make clear that panel reconsideration of an opinion withdraws any pending poll for rehearing en banc. Here is the text of today’s announcement with links to redlined and clean copies of the IPOs.
Pursuant to Federal Circuit Rule 47(c), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will be implementing several modifications to its Internal Operating Procedures, effective March 1, 2022. Redlined (pdf) and clean (pdf) versions of the updated Internal Operating Procedures are available on the court’s website.