United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals

Former United States federal court

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The United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (CCPA) was a United States federal court which existed from 1909 to 1982 and had jurisdiction over certain types of civil disputes.

## History

[edit]

The CCPA began as the United States Court of Customs Appeals, created by the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act of August 5, 1909. It commenced operations the following year, on April 22, 1910. Five judges for the new court were appointed by President Taft: Robert Morris Montgomery, William H. Hunt, James Francis Smith, Orion M. Barber and Marion De Vries. The jurisdiction was originally appeals from decisions of the Board of General Appraisers, and no further appellate review was permitted. This changed in 1914, when writ of certiorari by the United States Supreme Court was allowed. The Patent Act of 1922 expanded the court's jurisdiction to include appeals on questions of law from Tariff Commission findings in proceedings relating to unfair practices in the import trade.

In 1929, the court's name was changed to the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals by an enactment that conferred upon it appeals from the United States Patent Office. These appeals included ex parte patent cases, appeals from interference proceedings, and trademark cases, appeals which theretofore had been heard in United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In the 1929 case Ex Parte Bakelite Corporation,[1] the Supreme Court held that the CCPA was a court formed under Article I of the Constitution. This left the judges unable to sit by designation on regular federal courts, and in an ambiguous situation regarding judicial retirement. This situation was not addressed by Congress until August 25, 1958, when a law was passed deeming the CCPA an Article III court.[2] This law was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court, which overruled the Bakelite case.

In 1930, the CCPA moved into the Internal Revenue Service Building, where it remained until 1967. The CCPA moved into the National Courts Building (now the Howard T. Markey National Courts Building), which it shared with the United States Court of Claims.

In 1982, the CCPA was abolished by the Federal Courts Improvement Act. Its jurisdiction, docket, and judges were transferred to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

## Judges

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A total of 25 judges were appointed to the CCPA over the life of the court:

#  | Judge  | State  | Born–died  | Active service  | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by  | Reason for
termination

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | Robert Morris Montgomery | MI | 1849–1910  | 1910–1920  | 1910–1920  | —  | Taft | death
2  | Marion De Vries | CA | 1865–1939  | 1910–1922  | 1921–1922  | —  | Taft | resignation
3  | Orion M. Barber | VT | 1857–1930  | 1910–1928  | —  | 1928–1930  | Taft | death
4  | James Francis Smith | CA | 1859–1928  | 1910–1928  | —  | —  | Taft | death
5  | William Henry Hunt | MT | 1857–1949  | 1910–1911  | —  | —  | Taft | retirement
6  | George Ewing Martin | OH | 1857–1948  | 1911–1924  | 1923–1924  | —  | Taft | elevation to D.C. Cir.
7  | Oscar E. Bland | IN | 1877–1951  | 1923–1947  | —  | —  | Harding | retirement
8  | Charles Sherrod Hatfield | OH | 1882–1950  | 1923–1950  | —  | —  | Harding | death
9  | William J. Graham | IL | 1872–1937  | 1924–1937  | 1924–1937  | —  | Coolidge | death
10  | Finis J. Garrett | TN | 1875–1956  | 1929–1955  | 1937–1955  | —  | Coolidge | retirement
11  | Irvine Lenroot | WI | 1869–1949  | 1929–1944  | —  | —  | Hoover | retirement
12  | Joseph Raymond Jackson | NY | 1880–1969  | 1937–1952  | —  | 1952–1969  | F. Roosevelt | death
13  | Ambrose O'Connell | NY | 1881–1962  | 1944–1962  | —  | 1962  | F. Roosevelt | death
14  | Noble J. Johnson | IN | 1887–1968  | 1948–1958  | 1956–1958  | 1958–1968  | Truman | death
15  | Eugene Worley | TX | 1908–1974  | 1950–1972  | 1959–1972  | 1972–1974  | Truman | death
16  | William Purington Cole Jr. | MD | 1889–1957  | 1952–1957  | —  | —  | Truman | death
17  | Giles Rich | NY | 1904–1999  | 1956–1982  | —  | —  | Eisenhower | reassignment to Fed. Cir.
18  | Isaac Jack Martin | MD | 1908–1966  | 1958–1966  | —  | —  | Eisenhower | death
19  | Arthur Mumford Smith | MI | 1903–1968  | 1959–1968  | —  | —  | Eisenhower | death
20  | J. Lindsay Almond | VA | 1898–1986  | 1963–1973  | —  | 1973–1982  | Kennedy | reassignment to Fed. Cir.
21  | Phillip Baldwin | TX | 1924–2002  | 1968–1982  | —  | —  | L. Johnson | reassignment to Fed. Cir.
22  | Donald Edward Lane | DC | 1909–1979  | 1969–1979  | —  | —  | Nixon | death
23  | Howard Thomas Markey | IL | 1920–2006  | 1972–1982  | 1972–1982  | —  | Nixon | reassignment to Fed. Cir.
24  | Jack Miller | IA | 1916–1994  | 1973–1982  | —  | —  | Nixon | reassignment to Fed. Cir.
25  | Helen W. Nies | MD | 1925–1996  | 1980–1982  | —  | —  |  Carter | reassignment to Fed. Cir.

## Succession of seats

[edit]

| Seat 1 (Chief Judge)

Established as Presiding Judge of the United States Court of Customs Appeals on March 30, 1910, by 36 Stat. 11
Montgomery | MI | 1910–1920
De Vries | CA | 1921–1922
G. Martin | OH | 1923–1924
Graham | IL | 1924–1929
Redesignated as Presiding Judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals on March 2, 1929, by 45 Stat. 1475
Graham | IL | 1929–1937
Garrett | TN | 1937–1948
Redesignated as Chief Judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals on June 25, 1948, by 62 Stat. 899
Garrett | TN | 1948–1955
Johnson | IN | 1956–1958
Worley | TX | 1959–1972
Markey | IL | 1972–1982
Reassigned to United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on October 1, 1982, by 96 Stat. 25
| Seat 2

Established as Associate Judge of the United States Court of Customs Appeals on March 30, 1910, by 36 Stat. 11
De Vries | CA | 1910–1921
Bland | IN | 1923–1929
Redesignated as Associate Judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals on March 2, 1929, by 45 Stat. 1475
Bland | IN | 1929–1947
Johnson | IN | 1948–1956
Rich | NY | 1956–1982
Reassigned to United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on October 1, 1982, by 96 Stat. 25
| Seat 3

Established as Associate Judge of the United States Court of Customs Appeals on March 30, 1910, by 36 Stat. 11
Barber | VT | 1910–1928
Redesignated as Associate Judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals on March 2, 1929, by 45 Stat. 1475
Lenroot | WI | 1929–1944
O'Connell | NY | 1944–1962
Almond | VA | 1963–1973
Miller | IA | 1973–1982
Reassigned to United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on October 1, 1982, by 96 Stat. 25

| Seat 4

Established as Associate Judge of the United States Court of Customs Appeals on March 30, 1910, by 36 Stat. 11
J. Smith | CA | 1910–1928
Garrett | TN | 1929
Redesignated as Associate Judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals on March 2, 1929, by 45 Stat. 1475
Garrett | TN | 1929–1937
Jackson | NY | 1937–1952
Cole Jr. | MD | 1952–1957
I. Martin | MD | 1958–1966
Baldwin | TX | 1968–1982
Reassigned to United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on October 1, 1982, by 96 Stat. 25
| Seat 5

Established as Associate Judge of the United States Court of Customs Appeals on March 30, 1910, by 36 Stat. 11
Hunt | MT | 1910–1911
G. Martin | OH | 1911–1923
Hatfield | OH | 1923–1929
Redesignated as Associate Judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals on March 2, 1929, by 45 Stat. 1475
Hatfield | OH | 1929–1950
Worley | TX | 1950–1959
A. Smith | MI | 1959–1968
Lane | DC | 1969–1979
Nies | MD | 1980–1982
Reassigned to United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on October 1, 1982, by 96 Stat. 25

## See also

[edit]

* United States Court of International Trade
* United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

## Bibliography

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A brief history of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals / by Giles S. Rich. Washington, D.C. : Published by authorization of Committee on the Bicentennial of Independence and the Constitution of the Judicial Conference of the United States : U.S. G.P.O., 1980.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Ex Parte Bakelite Corporation, 279 U.S. 438 (1929).
2. ^ "Public Law 85-755 85th Congress, H. R. 7866, 72 Stat. 848" (PDF).

## External links

[edit]

* History of the court from the Federal Judicial Center
* Biographies of the judges from the Federal Judicial Center

Authority control databases

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* ISNI
* VIAF

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* Germany
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Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX