President-elect Donald Trump announced his plans to nominate Court of International Trade Judge Stephen Vaden to be deputy secretary of agriculture. Vaden joined the court in 2020 after working in Trump's first administration as USDA's general counsel. Posting the announcement on Truth Social, the president-elect said that at the agency, Vaden "relocated and reorganized the Agencies that comprise the Department to better serve Rural America, and engaged in substantial regulatory reform."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will be closed on Dec. 24 and 25, the court announced. The court said Dec. 24 will be considered a "legal holiday" for purposes of time computation and motions to enlarge time under CAFC Rule 26.

The Court of International Trade will be closed on Dec. 24 by order of Chief Judge Mark Barnett, the court announced.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman made her opening claims in a suit against her colleagues' investigation into her fitness to continue serving on the bench. In addition, Newman moved to unseal certain documents used in her brief, claiming that her colleagues on the court "threatened her and her attorneys with unspecified sanctions if any portion of the documents" were made public (Hon. Pauline Newman v. Hon. Kimberly Moore, D.C. Cir. # 23-01334).

Amendments to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's practice rules officially took effect Dec. 1, the court announced. The changes incorporated all procedural requirements for petitioners for panel rehearings and rehearings en banc into one rule, though no substantive changes were made to the rule (see 2409050005). As a result of the change, CAFC updated its information sheet on rehearing petitions.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Nov. 20 advised attorneys to be aware of fake CM/ECF notices of electronic filing and notices of docket activity that are being sent to attorneys and law firms. The court said there has been "nationwide reporting" of these fake notices, which are phishing attempts meant to trick the recipients into replying to the email, where they are directed to a malicious website. The court said users should "validate cases and case documentation only through CM/ECF, and never download any attachments or click any links from unofficial or questionable sources."

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Nov. 19 adopted amendments to its practice rules and notes and attorney discipline rules, the court announced. The changes will take effect Dec. 1 and will apply to "all cases filed order pending on or after" Dec. 1, unless otherwise ordered, the court said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will sit in North Carolina for part of its February session, the court announced. On Feb. 4, the court will sit at the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill. On Feb. 5, the court will sit at Duke University School of Law in Durham, and on Feb. 6, the court will sit at North Carolina Central University School of Law, Durham. The court said the effort is part of its "nationwide jurisdiction and statutory requirement" to provide "reasonable opportunities to citizens to appear before the court." The case list for each sitting hasn't been released.

Pay.gov will undergo maintenance Nov. 16 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST, the Court of International Trade said. Documents requiring the service can't be filed on CM/ECF during this time, the court said.

Pacer.gov will undergo maintenance on Nov. 10 from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST, the Court of International Trade said. Issues may arise when users attempt to log onto CM/ECF or make payments through Pay.gov, the court noted.