VA Rules Fight Heads for Full Federal Circuit in Remote Argument

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hold its first remote full court argument Thursday since the coronavirus pandemic began, in a case involving Department of Veterans Affairs interpretive rules.

In-person arguments before the court usually involve the judges jumping in to ask questions and engaging with the advocates and each other. But the court is planning to allot time to the attorneys arguing the case, followed by judges’ questions.

The argument will provide a template for how the Federal Circuit might handle a full-court argument in patent cases, which account for the bulk of its docket. ...