Federal Circuit Court

Lawyer for federal appeals judge barred from new cases finds orders ‘incredible’ and ‘stunning’

A lawyer representing a 95-year-old federal appeals judge is criticizing a judicial council’s refusal to assign her new cases and an investigating committee’s new focus on her failure to cooperate.

Jun 8, 2023 8:58 AM CDT

SCOTUS will consider First Amendment right to trademark ‘Trump too small’ without Trump’s consent

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the First Amendment was violated when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refused to register a trademark for the slogan “Trump too small.”

Jun 6, 2023 8:46 AM CDT

Federal circuit judge, 95, flunked security training, displayed hacking paranoia, exam order alleges

Judge Pauline Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has until May 23 to decide whether she will submit to a medical examination for competency with two specialists, according to a May 16 order by a three-judge investigative committee that details the reasons for its concerns.

May 18, 2023 8:43 AM CDT

Competency concerns lead to investigation of 95-year-old appeals judge

A 95-year-old judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is being investigated by the court’s judicial council after concerns were raised about her competency. The judge has refused to accept service of orders issued in the case.

Apr 17, 2023 9:51 AM CDT

Meet the lawyer representing Trump in his lawsuit against journalist Bob Woodward

The new lawyer representing former President Donald Trump in his lawsuit against journalist Bob Woodward initially practiced law as a barrister in Great Britain.

Feb 2, 2023 9:41 AM CST

Judge’s failure to conduct ‘lodestar cross-check’ dooms Quinn Emanuel’s $185M fee award

A trial judge should not have awarded $185 million in fees to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan without conducting a “lodestar cross-check” that considers hours worked and billing rates, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Tuesday.

Feb 1, 2023 10:53 AM CST

Meet Robert Hur, the former Trump-era prosecutor who is special counsel in Biden documents probe

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday that he is appointing a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as the special counsel to investigate whether any person or entity violated the law in connection with classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s home and office.

Jan 12, 2023 2:01 PM CST

Weekly Briefs: Same-sex marriage bill sent to Biden; lawyer pleads guilty after swinging belt caught on video

Bill protecting gay marriage is sent to Biden

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a marriage equality bill Thursday that requires states and the federal government to recognize same-sex…

Dec 9, 2022 2:42 PM CST

Corporate owners knew little about patents they got free of charge and the litigation that followed, judge finds

A federal judge in Delaware is explaining why he ordered patent holding company Nimitz Technologies to produce records showing how it came to own a patent at issue in four cases before him.

Dec 5, 2022 2:53 PM CST

Past PACER users would each get at least $350 in refunds under lawsuit settlement

The U.S. government has agreed to pay $125 million to settle a class action lawsuit claiming that the judiciary overcharged users of PACER, its electronic system of court records.

Oct 12, 2022 10:08 AM CDT

ABA supports use of ‘Kessler doctrine’ to discourage patent trolls

In 1907, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Kessler v. Eldred that after Eldred unsuccessfully sued Kessler for infringing his patent for an electrical cigar lighter, he couldn’t sue Kessler’s customers or Kessler, who intervened on their behalf, for infringing his patent on the same product.

Aug 8, 2022 6:42 PM CDT

AI system can’t be an inventor under US patent law, Federal Circuit rules

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that an artificial intelligence system can’t get a patent for two of its new inventions—a food container and a light beacon.

Aug 8, 2022 11:00 AM CDT

Federal judge sitting atop mound of patent litigation loses perch with equitable-distribution order

A federal judge in Waco, Texas, who hears nearly 25% of the nation’s patent cases will see his intellectual-property docket shrink as a result of a new order on case distribution.

Jul 27, 2022 12:26 PM CDT

‘Are you serious, judge?’ Twice-asked question leads to lawyer’s public censure

Updated: A state appeals court in New York has imposed a public censure on a lawyer who responded to a question with a question during an oral argument before a federal appeals court in December 2019.

Jun 2, 2022 11:00 AM CDT

Jackson showed no signs of bias in criminal cases, ABA evaluators tell senators; uniform high praise compelled top rating

The ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary gave U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson its “well qualified” rating after receiving consistent praise from those who knew her and reviewed her writing, committee representatives told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Mar 24, 2022 11:13 AM CDT