Federal Courts Improvement Act 96 Stat. 25 (1982)
FEDERAL COURTS IMPROVEMENT ACT 96 Stat. 25 (1982)
This act reorganized several specialized federal courts. It merged the former court of claims and court of customs and patent appeals into a new united states court of appeals for the federal circuit, transferring to the new court the former courts' jurisdiction, and staffing it with the judges of the superseded courts. The Federal Circuit is a constitutional court, staffed by twelve judges with life terms.
The act also created a new claims court to handle the trial functions formerly performed by commissioners (later called trial judges) of the old Court of Claims. The Claims Court is a legislative court; its sixteen judges serve for fifteen-year terms. Appeals go to the Federal Circuit.
Kenneth L. Karst
(1986)
Bibliography
Symposium 1983–1984 The Federal Courts Improvement Act. Cleveland State Law Review 32:1–116.