There's A New President. How Could That Affect Practice In The Circuit?

What could the new President mean for Federal Circuit practitioners? It could mean new judges. While no vacancies arose during President Trump's term, five of the Circuit's active judges can take senior status at any time, because they meet "the rule of 80" (which means their age plus judicial service equals 80, and they are at least 65 years old with 10 years' service).

But just because they can doesn't mean they will. Judge Newman has been eligible since 1996, yet she's still going strong at age 93. Judge Lourie could have taken senior status in 2003; same with Judge Dyk in 2010 and Judge Wallach in 2014. Chief Judge Prost became eligible while she's been Chief, so perhaps she'll step back after she passes that gavel to Judge Moore in May 2021. And two more will become eligible over the next four years: Judge O'Malley in November 2021 and Judge Reyna in April 2022.