In 1982, Congress created the only federal judicial circuit to be defined by its subject matter jurisdiction rather than its geographical boundaries. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit assumed the jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals as well as the appellate jurisdiction of the U.S. Court of Claims. Those courts were abolished and their judges reassigned to the Federal Circuit. The statute also created a new U.S. Claims Court, later renamed the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, to assume the original jurisdiction of the former U.S. Court of Claims. The judges of the U.S. Claims Court were to be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate to serve fifteen-year terms.
See also:
Landmark Legislation: Federal Circuit