Last Updated on Wednesday, 22 May 2013 09:45 Written by dbhalling Thursday, 16 May 2013 11:01

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Below is an updated chart of the CAFC judges and whether they are patent attorneys or have a technical background.  In my opinion and based on the latest rulings out of the CAFC all the Judges on this court should have a technical degree and be patent attorneys.  Presently only four of the judges are patent attorneys and only five of the judges have a technical background.  This is down from five judges being patent attorneys in 2010 and in April of 2011.  Clearly neither Congress or the Obama administration have put a very high priority on the quality of judges at the CAFC.

Judge	Patent Attorney	Technical Background
Rader	No	No
Newman	Yes	Yes – Ph.D
Mayer*	No	No
Plager*	No	No
Lorie	Yes	Yes – Ph.D
Clevenger*	No	No
Schall*	No	No
Bryson	No	No
Linn	Yes	Yes – BEE
Dyk	No	No
Prost	No	Yes – BS
Moore	Yes	Yes – MSEE
O’Malley	No	No
Reyna	No	No
Wallach	No	No

* Senior status.

 

The following additional information was provided by stepback.

PAULINE NEWMAN, Circuit Judge: … She served as patent attorney and house counsel of FMC Corp. from 1954 to 1969 and as research scientist, American Cyanamid Co. from 1951 to 1954. Judge Newman received a B.A. from Vassar College in 1947, an M.A. from Columbia University in 1948, a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1952 and an LL.B. from New York University School of Law in 1958.  From http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=126:pauline-newman-circuit-judge&catid=1:judges&Itemid=24.  Not surprisingly I have often believed Judge Newman is the most intelligent judge on the CAFC.

KIMBERLY A. MOORE, Circuit Judge: … was an Associate at Kirkland & Ellis from 1994 to 1995. From 1988 to 1992, Judge Moore was employed in electrical engineering with the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Judge Moore received her B.S.E.E. in 1990, M.S. in 1991, both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and her J.D. (cum laude) from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1994.

RICHARD LINN, Circuit Judge: … was a Partner and Practice Group Leader at the Washington, DC law firm of Foley and Lardner from 1997 to 1999. He was a Partner and head of the intellectual property department at Marks and Murase, L.L.P. from 1977 to 1997. Judge Linn served as Patent Advisor, United States Naval Air Systems Command from 1971 to 1972, was a Patent Agent at the United States Naval Research Laboratory from 1968 to 1969, and served as a Patent Examiner at the United States Patent Office from 1965 to 1968 … He received a B.E.E. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1965, and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1969.