The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hear oral arguments in Philadelphia as part of its November session, the court announced June 3. This is in addition to its regular sitting in Washington, D.C. Arguments will take place at Drexel University Nov. 1, the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University Nov. 2, and James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse Nov. 3. The court will post the scheduled cases when the November session is finalized. Nov. 1 arguments also will be held at Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania.

Judge Judith Rogers, judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, will take senior status on Sept. 1, according to a future vacancies posting on the U.S. Courts website. Rogers notified the courts administration system to her impending senior status on June 2. The judge was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 1994. She previously served as an zssistant U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia and worked at DOJ in the deputy attorney general's office and the Criminal Division.

The Judicial Conference of the U.S., the federal court system's policymaking body, supports a proposal to make searches free on the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service -- the means by which electronic public access to court documents is provided. The proposal, brought by the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management, would make searches free for noncommercial users but would require "extensive development work to the current PACER system and all operational versions of the Case Management/Electronic Case Files system," the proposal said. The Judicial Conference endorsed the proposal in a March meeting, according to a report made public recently.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a May 4 errata order corrected three small errors in an opinion it issued April 14. The order changed the letter or number for three of the opinion's headings. "A. Mootness" was changed to "B. Mootness," "A. The Merits" was changed to "C. The Merits" and "II. Claims as to the Final Dumping Determination" was changed to "III. Claims as to the Final Dumping Determination" (Confederacion de Asociaciones Agricolas del Estado de Sinaloa v. U.S., Fed. Cir. #20-2232).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit released new protocols for in-person arguments beginning with the June 2022 court session. The rules still require that counsel and attendees don N-95, KN-95 or KF-94 masks, regardless of vaccination status, and provide a negative PCR COVID-19 test within the 72 hours before the oral argument -- the tests must be done after any commercial travel to the Washington, D.C., area. The court also expressed its "strong preference" for in-person oral argument proceedings, adding that the court will not hear motions to expand access to attend oral argument proceedings beyond counsel and one necessary attendee.

The New York State Unified Court System fired 103 employees who failed to get the COVID-19 vaccine, the Office of Court Administration said in an email. Two weeks prior, the court system notified 156 nonjudicial employees over their unvaccinated status; 103 will now be sent termination letters. In addition, one employee resigned and 11 retired.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit administered the oath of office to Judge Leonard Stark on March 17, the court announced. Chief Judge Kimberly Moore oversaw the swearing in. Stark's nomination passed the Senate in February, with a vote of 61-35 (see 2202100019), marking President Joe Biden's second addition to the patent and trade appellate court. Prior to joining the Federal Circuit, Stark sat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware starting in 2010 and serving as its chief judge 2014-2021.

The Judicial Conference voted to automate the release of judges' financial disclosure reports in a bid to increase transparency, federal courts announced March 15. Approving the new measures at its biannual meeting, the policymaking body also discussed ongoing efforts to establish an online platform to release judges' financial disclosure reports. The online system will include features needed for filing and redacting these reports, along with the feature of automating their release.

Judge Kathleen O'Malley retired from judicial service at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on March 11, the court announced. O'Malley was appointed by President Barack Obama and served on the appellate court starting Dec. 27, 2010. Before her time at the Federal Circuit, O'Malley served for 16 years at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

The Court of International Trade in an order dated March 10 dropped its mask mandate for individuals seeking to enter the New York courthouse. The decision follows a change in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention policy. Unvaccinated individuals will still be subjected to COVID-19 screening, including an inquiry into recent COVID-19 exposure and a temperature check, the court said. No one feeling sick may enter the building regardless of vaccination status, the court added. It also said presiding judges may institute masking and other COVID-19 prevention steps. The measures took effect March 11.