Federal Circuit Rule 32.1: Citing Judicial Dispositions
Rules of Practice and Internal Operating Procedures of the Federal Circuit — Title VII. General Provisions
(a) Nonprecedential Disposition.
A nonprecedential disposition must bear a legend designating it as nonprecedential. A precedential disposition will bear no legend.
(b) Nonprecedential Opinion or Order.
An opinion or order which is designated as nonprecedential is one determined by the panel issuing it as not adding significantly to the body of law.
(c) Parties’ Citation of Nonprecedential Dispositions.
Parties are not prohibited or restricted from citing nonprecedential dispositions.
(d) Court’s Consideration of Nonprecedential or Unpublished Dispositions.
The court may refer to a nonprecedential or unpublished disposition in an opinion or order and may look to a nonprecedential or unpublished disposition for guidance or persuasive reasoning but will not give one of its own nonprecedential dispositions the effect of binding precedent. The court will not consider nonprecedential or unpublished dispositions of another court as binding precedent of that court unless the rules of that court so provide.
(e) Request to Make an Opinion or Order Precedential.
Within sixty (60) days after the court issues a nonprecedential opinion or order, any person may request through motion filed in the case that the opinion or order be reissued as precedential. The request will be considered by the panel that rendered the disposition. The motion must identify any case that person knows to be pending that would be determined or affected by reissuance as precedential. Parties to pending cases having a stake in the outcome of a decision on the motion must be given an opportunity to respond. If the request is granted, the opinion or order may be revised as appropriate.
(f) Public Records.
All dispositions by the court in any form will be in writing and are public records.
Notes
Practice Notes to Rule 32.1
Filing an Opinion.
An opinion is issued when ready. No particular day of the week is considered a “down day.” The judgment is entered on the day the opinion is filed with the clerk of court and transmitted to the parties.
Availability of an Opinion.
The court’s precedential and nonprecedential opinions are available in a variety of commercially available print and electronic media, as well as online through the court’s website and the U.S. Government Publishing Office’s website.
Subscriptions.
Subscriptions to daily opinions and other items are available through the court’s website at http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/email-subscriptions.
Request to Make an Opinion or Order Precedential.
It is improper to refer in a brief to a request to make an opinion or order precedential before the request has been acted on.