The two judicial vacancies at The Court of International Trade are unduly burdening the court, The Customs & International Trade Bar Association said in an April 20 letter to White House Counsel Stuart Delery. The letter urged President Joe Biden to quickly nominate judges for the two outstanding vacancies.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on April 14 confirmed that a three-judge special committee is looking into a complaint against Judge Pauline Newman's ability to continue serving on the court. Judge Kimberly Moore brought the complaint against Newman, 95, after alleging probable cause she carried out "conduct prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts" and is unable to perform her duties due to a "mental or physical disability."

The Court of International Trade approved fees for a three-day transcript rate and per-feed rates for real-time transcripts, the court announced. Per the transcript order form, a three-day transcript will cost $5.45 per page for the original and $1.05 per copy to each party and $0.75 to each additional copy to the same party. The realtime transcript will cost $3.95 per page for one feed, $2.10 per page for two to four feeds and $1.50 per page for five or more feeds.

The Court of International Trade announced the conclusion of its Audio Streaming Pilot Program, which concluded Feb. 14. It said that after March 31, audio recordings of proceedings before CIT will not be available on the court's YouTube channel.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's CM/ECF electronic filing system will be unavailable starting April 7 at 6 p.m. EST and continuing through April 9 at 6 p.m. EST due to "an extended maintenance window," the court said. Filers should avoid trying to file new documents during this time, though the system "may be available for intermittent accessing of documents."

The Clerk's Office of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's launched a live chat system on the court's website, allowing users to "receive real time assistance from a Clerk's Office staff member." The browser-based site runs 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

The Court of International Trade's CM/ECF system will be unavailable during maintenance scheduled for March 25, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 pm EST, the court said.

Judge Stephen Vaden of the Court of International Trade said he did not understand why CIT cases involving presidential decisions or constitutional claims are not allowed direct appeals to the Supreme Court. Speaking March 8 on the "Original Jurisdiction" podcast, Vaden detailed the way constitutional claims are heard at CIT and explained how they are different from other federal courts.

Changes to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's rules of practice took effect March 1, the court announced. The amendments apply to rules of practice 25, 26, 27, 28, 28.1, 30, 31, 32, 33, 33.1, 34, 35, 39, 40, 41, 47.4, 47.5 and 47.6 and cover the number of required paper copies of briefs needed on rehearing motions and designating the day after Thanksgiving as a court holiday, among other things (see 2302240012). In addition to the changes, the appellate court said it updated many of its forms, including forms 1, 5, 6, 8B, 9, 9A, 16, 18, 24, 32 and 33. The updated forms should be used for all filings made after March 1.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit announced Jarrett Perlow will succeed Peter Marksteiner as the appellate court's next circuit executive and clerk of court. Marksteiner will retire June 30, having filled the role since 2016. Perlow has been the Federal Circuit's chief deputy clerk since December 2016. He also serves as a resident fellow in the Director's Leadership Program at the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, where he leads the development of a "nationwide court process improvement program across the federal judiciary," the Federal Circuit said. Perlow will assume the role July 1.