Justice Up Close: The Federal Circuit Opens Its Doors for America 250

Patent – Patently-O 2026-05-19

by Dennis Crouch

I was out in the woods this past weekend staffing an MKP retreat and so missed the Federal Circuit’s annual Judiciary Conference. But, the highlight was almost certainly the debut of the Federal Circuit’s first (and so far only) theme song, a Schoolhouse Rock-style cartoon explainer of the court.

See Dani Kass, Fed. Circ. Drops A Theme Song, Talks Guest Judges, Law360 (May 15, 2026).

The Federal Circuit has also expanded its Center for Innovation & Law and is opening the doors to a new exhibit: “Justice Up Close, History All Around,” a free America 250 program offering timed-entry tours, mock trials in a working courtroom, Dolley Madison’s restored parlor, NASA artifacts, and direct conversations with federal judges.

May 19: If you want free tickets, the first wave is available May 19 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, at innovationcenter.cafc.uscourts.gov.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is the only federal court of appeals defined by subject matter rather than geography. Congress created it through the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982, Pub. L. No. 97-164, 96 Stat. 25, by merging the old Court of Customs and Patent Appeals with the appellate jurisdiction of the Court of Claims. Its docket runs across patent cases under 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1), Court of Federal Claims and Tucker Act cases, Court of International Trade cases, Merit Systems Protection Board appeals, veterans benefits appeals from the Veterans Court, and trademark cases from the TTAB.

The buildings themselves are super interesting, including the Cutts-Madison House, where Dolley Madison lived after James Madison’s death in 1836. The neighboring property housed the National Woman’s Party during the suffrage movement, and NASA used the complex as its first Washington headquarters during the Mercury and Apollo programs.