United States Court of International Trade

40°42′54″N 74°0′13″W / 40.71500°N 74.00361°W / 40.71500; -74.00361

United States Court of International Trade
(Ct. Int'l Trade)
Location	Lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States
Appeals to	Federal Circuit
Established	December 18, 1980; 43 years ago (1980-12-18)
Authority	Article III court
Created by	28 U.S.C. §§ 251–258
Composition method	Presidential nomination with Senate advice and consent
Judges	9
Judge term length	Life tenure
Chief Judge	Mark A. Barnett
cit.uscourts.gov

The United States Court of International Trade (case citations: Ct. Int'l Trade) is a U.S. federal court that adjudicates civil actions arising out of U.S. customs and international trade laws.^[1] Seated in New York City, it exercises broad jurisdiction over most trade-related matters, and is permitted to hear and decide cases anywhere in the country, as well as abroad.^[2]

The court originated with the Customs Administrative Act of 1890, which established the Board of General Appraisers as a quasi-judicial entity of the U.S. Treasury Department tasked with hearing disputes primarily concerning tariffs and import duties.^[3] In 1926, Congress replaced the Board with the United States Customs Court, an administrative tribunal with greater judicial functions, which in 1930 was made independent of the Treasury Department. In 1956, the U.S. Customs Court was reconstituted by Congress as an Article III tribunal, giving it the status and privileges of a federal court. The Customs Courts Act of 1980 established the U.S. Court of International Trade in its current form, granting it jurisdiction over all trade matters and conferring its judges with life tenure.^[3]

The court's subject matter jurisdiction is limited to particular questions in international trade and customs law, though it may also decide any civil action against the U.S. government, its officers, or its agencies arising out of any law connected to international trade. As an Article III tribunal, the U.S. Court of International Trade can decide controversies in both law and equity, and is thus allowed to grant relief in virtually all means available, including money judgments, writs of mandamus, and preliminary or permanent injunctions.

Led by a chief judge, the court is composed of nine judges who are appointed by the U.S. president and confirmed by the Senate. No more than five judges can be of the same political party.^[4] Cases are typically heard by just one judge, and the court operates on procedures and protocols drawn heavily from the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

History

In 1890, the United States Congress passed legislation creating the Board of General Appraisers, a quasi-judicial administrative unit within the United States Department of the Treasury. The Board had nine members appointed by the President of the United States and empowered to review decisions of United States Customs officials concerning the amount of duties to be paid on importations.^[5]

In 1926, Congress responded to the increasing number and complexity of customs cases by replacing the Board of General Appraisers with the United States Customs Court, an independent Article I tribunal, retaining the jurisdiction and powers of the Board of General Appraisers. In 1928, the United States Customs Court became the first federal tribunal in the United States to have a woman judge,^[6] when President Calvin Coolidge nominated Genevieve R. Cline to the court.^[7] Although many members of the United States Senate objected to Cline's appointment, both because of her sex, and because they believed she was self-taught and had no judicial experience, her supporters advocated strongly for her, including Katherine Pike, president of the National Association of Women Lawyers and a number of club-women. Cline won U.S. Senate confirmation on May 25, 1928, received her commission on May 26, 1928, and took her oath of office in the Cleveland Federal Building on June 5, 1928.^[8]

On July 14, 1956, Congress made the United States Customs Court an Article III tribunal, again without changing its jurisdiction, powers, or procedures.^[9] After making some procedural changes in the Customs Courts Act of 1970, Congress addressed substantive issues concerning the court's jurisdiction and remedial powers in the Customs Courts Act of 1980, which broadened the power of the court and renamed it the United States Court of International Trade.^[5]

Courthouse

 

The James L. Watson Court of International Trade Building on Foley Square

The James L. Watson Court of International Trade Building, located on Foley Square in lower Manhattan in New York City, houses the court. Also known as 1 Federal Plaza, it was built in 1968 adjacent to the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building.^[10] In 2003, the building was named in honor of James L. Watson, a judge of the United States Customs Court from 1964 to 1980, and of the Court of International Trade from 1980 to 2001.^[11]

Jurisdiction

The court possesses limited subject matter jurisdiction, meaning that it may hear only cases involving particular international trade and customs law questions. For example, the court hears disputes such as those involving protests filed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, decisions regarding Trade Adjustment Assistance by the United States Department of Labor or United States Department of Agriculture, customs broker licensing, and disputes relating to determinations made by the United States International Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration regarding anti-dumping and countervailing duties.^[12]

There is one notable exception to the court's jurisdiction. In cases involving antidumping and countervailing duties imposed on Canadian or Mexican merchandise, an interested party can request that the case be heard before a special ad hoc binational panel organized under Chapter 19 of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement.

Procedure

Most cases are heard by a single judge. If a case challenges the constitutionality of a U.S. law or has important implications regarding the administration or interpretation of the customs laws, then it may be heard by a three-judge panel. Many Judges of the Court of International Trade also regularly sit by designation on three-judge panels of the United States courts of appeals.^[5]

Although the Court maintains its own rules of procedure, they are patterned for the most part on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The court has held that decisions interpreting the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are "instructive" in interpreting its own rules.^[5]

Current composition of the court

As of February 14, 2024^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
24	Chief Judge	Mark A. Barnett	New York City	1963	2013–present^[Note 1]	2021–present	—	Obama
25	Judge	Claire R. Kelly	New York City	1965	2013–present	—	—	Obama
26	Judge	Jennifer Choe-Groves	New York City	1969	2016–present	—	—	Obama
27	Judge	Gary Katzmann	New York City	1953	2016–present	—	—	Obama
28	Judge	Timothy M. Reif	New York City	1959	2019–present	—	—	Trump
29	Judge	M. Miller Baker	New York City	1962	2019–present	—	—	Trump
30	Judge	Stephen Vaden	New York City	1982	2020–present	—	—	Trump
31	Judge	Lisa Wang	New York City	1980	2024–present	—	—	Biden
32	Judge	Joseph A. Laroski	New York City	1971	2024–present	—	—	Biden
11	Senior Judge	Jane A. Restani	New York City	1948	1983–2015	2003–2010	2015–present	Reagan
13	Senior Judge	Thomas J. Aquilino	New York City	1939	1985–2004	—	2004–present	Reagan
19	Senior Judge	Judith Barzilay	inactive	1944	1998–2011	—	2011–present	Clinton
20	Senior Judge	Delissa A. Ridgway	inactive	1955	1998–2019	—	2019–present	Clinton
21	Senior Judge	Richard K. Eaton	New York City	1948	1999–2014	—	2014–present	Clinton
22	Senior Judge	Timothy C. Stanceu	New York City	1951	2003–2021	2014–2021	2021–present	G.W. Bush
23	Senior Judge	Leo M. Gordon	New York City	1952	2006–2019	—	2019–present	G.W. Bush

1. By virtue of his seniority of age, Judge Barnett holds seniority over Judge Kelly despite their identical commission dates.

Former judges of the United States Court of International Trade

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
—	Samuel Murray Rosenstein	NY	1909–1995	—	—	1980–1995^[Note 1]	L. Johnson / Operation of law	death
1	Paul Peter Rao	NY	1899–1988	1980–1988^[Note 1]	—	—	Truman / Operation of law	death
2	Morgan Ford	NY	1911–1992	1980–1985^[Note 1]	—	1985–1992	Truman / Operation of law	death
3	Scovel Richardson	NY	1912–1982	1980–1982^[Note 1]	—	—	Eisenhower / Operation of law	death
4	Frederick Landis Jr.	NY	1912–1990	1980–1983^[Note 1]	—	1983–1990	L. Johnson / Operation of law	death
5	James Lopez Watson	NY	1922–2001	1980–1991^[Note 1]	—	1991–2001	L. Johnson / Operation of law	death
6	Herbert N. Maletz	NY	1913–2002	1980–1982^[Note 1]	—	1982–2002	L. Johnson / Operation of law	death
7	Bernard Newman	NY	1907–1999	1980–1983^[Note 1]	—	1983–1999	L. Johnson / Operation of law	death
8	Edward D. Re	NY	1920–2006	1980–1991^[Note 1]	1980–1991	—	L. Johnson / Operation of law	retirement
9	Nils Boe	NY	1913–1992	1980–1984^[Note 1]	—	1984–1992	Nixon / Operation of law	death
10	Gregory W. Carman	NY	1937–2020	1983–2014	1996–2003	2014–2020	Reagan	death
12	Dominick L. DiCarlo	NY	1928–1999	1984–1996	1991–1996	1996–1999	Reagan	death
14	Nicholas Tsoucalas	NY	1926–2018	1986–1996	—	1996–2018	Reagan	death
15	R. Kenton Musgrave	CA	1927–2023	1987–1997	—	1997–2023	Reagan	death
16	Richard W. Goldberg	ND	1927–2023	1991–2001	—	2001–2023	G.H.W. Bush	death
17	Donald C. Pogue	CT	1947–2016	1995–2014	2010–2014	2014–2016	Clinton	death
18	Evan Wallach	NV	1949–present	1995–2011	—	—	Clinton	elevation to Fed. Cir.

1. Reassigned from the United States Customs Court.

Former judges of the United States Customs Court

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	William Barberie Howell	NY	1865–1927	1926–1927^[Note 1]	1926–1927	—	McKinley / Operation of law	death
2	Israel F. Fischer	NY	1858–1940	1926–1932^[Note 1]	1927–1932	—	McKinley / Operation of law	retirement
3	Byron Sylvester Waite	NY	1852–1930	1926–1930^[Note 1]	—	—	T. Roosevelt / Operation of law	retirement
4	Charles Paul McClelland	NY	1854–1944	1926–1939^[Note 1]	1934–1939	—	T. Roosevelt / Operation of law	retirement
5	Jerry Bartholomew Sullivan	NY	1859–1948	1926–1939^[Note 1]	—	—	Wilson / Operation of law	retirement
6	George Stewart Brown	NY	1871–1941	1926–1941^[Note 1]	1939–1940	—	Wilson / Operation of law	retirement
7	William C. Adamson	NY	1854–1929	1926–1928^[Note 1]	—	—	Wilson / Operation of law	retirement
8	George Emery Weller	NY	1857–1932	1926–1930^[Note 1]	—	—	Wilson / Operation of law	retirement
9	George M. Young	NY	1870–1932	1926–1932^[Note 1]	1932	—	Coolidge / Operation of law	death
10	William Josiah Tilson	NY	1871–1949	1928–1949	1932–1934	—	Coolidge	death
11	Genevieve R. Cline	NY	1877–1959	1928–1953	—	—	Coolidge	retirement
12	David Hayes Kincheloe	NY	1877–1950	1930–1948^[Note 2]	—	—	Hoover	retirement
13	Walter Howard Evans	NY	1870–1959	1931–1941	—	—	Hoover	retirement
14	Frederick W. Dallinger	NY	1871–1955	1932–1942	—	—	Hoover	retirement
15	William John Keefe	NY	1873–1955	1933–1947	—	—	F. Roosevelt	retirement
16	Thomas Joseph Walker	NY	1877–1945	1940–1945	—	—	F. Roosevelt	death
17	Webster Oliver	NY	1888–1969	1940–1967	1940–1965	1967–1969	F. Roosevelt	death
18	William A. Ekwall	NY	1887–1956	1942–1956	—	—	F. Roosevelt	death
19	William Purington Cole Jr.	NY	1889–1957	1942–1952	—	—	F. Roosevelt	elevation to C.C.P.A.
20	Charles Drummond Lawrence	NY	1878–1975	1943–1965	—	1965–1975	F. Roosevelt	death
21	Irvin Charles Mollison	NY	1898–1962	1945–1962	—	—	Truman	death
22	Jed Johnson	NY	1888–1963	1947–1963	—	—	Truman	death
23	Paul Peter Rao	NY	1899–1988	1948–1980^[Note 3]	1965–1971	—	Truman	reassignment to Intl. Trade
24	Morgan Ford	NY	1911–1992	1949–1980	—	—	Truman	reassignment to Intl. Trade
25	David John Wilson	NY	1887–1976	1954–1966	—	1966–1976	Eisenhower	death
26	Mary Donlon Alger	NY	1893–1977	1955–1966	—	1966–1977	Eisenhower	death
27	Scovel Richardson	NY	1912–1982	1957–1980	—	—	Eisenhower	reassignment to Intl. Trade
28	Philip Nichols Jr.	NY	1907–1990	1964–1966	—	—	L. Johnson	elevation to Ct. Cl.
29	Frederick Landis Jr.	NY	1912–1990	1965–1980	—	—	L. Johnson	reassignment to Intl. Trade
30	James Lopez Watson	NY	1922–2001	1966–1980	—	—	L. Johnson	reassignment to Intl. Trade
31	Lindley Beckworth	NY	1913–1984	1967–1968	—	—	L. Johnson	resignation
32	Herbert N. Maletz	NY	1913–2002	1967–1980	—	—	L. Johnson	reassignment to Intl. Trade
33	Bernard Newman	NY	1907–1999	1968–1980	—	—	L. Johnson	reassignment to Intl. Trade
34	Samuel Murray Rosenstein	NY	1909–1995	1968–1970	—	1970–1980	L. Johnson	reassignment to Intl. Trade
35	Edward D. Re	NY	1920–2006	1968–1980	1977–1980	—	L. Johnson	reassignment to Intl. Trade
36	Nils Boe	NY	1913–1992	1971–1980	1971–1977	—	Nixon	reassignment to Intl. Trade

1. Reassigned from the Board of General Appraisers.
2. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 4, 1930, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 22, 1931, and received commission on January 29, 1931.
3. Recess appointment; formally nominated on June 22, 1948, confirmed by the Senate on January 31, 1949, and received commission on February 2, 1948.

Former members of the Board of General Appraisers

#	Member	State	Born/Died	Active service	President	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Charles H. Ham	NY	1831–1902	1890–1902	1897–1902	—	B. Harrison	resignation
2	George C. Tichenor	NY	1838–1902	1890–1902	1890–1897	—	B. Harrison	death
3	Joseph Biddle Wilkinson Jr.	NY	1845–1915	1890–1899	—	—	B. Harrison	resignation
4	James A. Jewell	NY	c. 1840–1912	1890–1903	—	—	B. Harrison	resignation
5	Henderson M. Somerville	NY	1837–1915	1890–1915	1910–1914	—	B. Harrison	death
6	Ferdinand N. Shurtleff	NY	1837–1903	1890–1899	—	—	B. Harrison	removal^[Note 1]
7	Joseph Lewis Stackpole	NY	1838–1904	1890–1890	—	—	B. Harrison	resignation
8	Thaddeus S. Sharretts	NY	1850–1926	1890–1913	—	—	B. Harrison	removal^[Note 2]
9	George H. Sharpe	NY	1828–1900	1890–1899	—	—	B. Harrison	resignation
10	Wilbur Fisk Lunt	NY	1848–1908	1891–1908	—	—	B. Harrison	death
11	William Barberie Howell	NY	1865–1927	1899–1926	1925–1926	—	McKinley	reassignment to Cust Ct.
12	Israel F. Fischer	NY	1858–1940	1899–1926^[Note 3]	1902–1905	—	McKinley	reassignment to Cust Ct.
13	Marion De Vries	NY	1865–1939	1900–1910^[Note 4]	1906–1910	—	McKinley	elevation to C.C.P.A.
14	Byron Sylvester Waite	NY	1852–1930	1902–1926	—	—	T. Roosevelt	reassignment to Cust Ct.
15	Charles P. McClelland	NY	1854–1944	1903–1926^[Note 5]	—	—	T. Roosevelt	reassignment to Cust Ct.
16	Eugene Gano Hay	NY	1853–1933	1903–1923^[Note 6]	—	—	T. Roosevelt	retirement
17	Roy Chamberlain	NY	1861–1953	1908–1913^[Note 7]	—	—	T. Roosevelt	removal^[Note 2]
18	Samuel B. Cooper	NY	1850–1918	1910–1918	—	—	Taft	death
19	Jerry Bartholomew Sullivan	NY	1859–1948	1913–1926	1914–1925	—	Wilson	reassignment to Cust Ct.
20	George Stewart Brown	NY	1871–1941	1913–1926	—	—	Wilson	reassignment to Cust Ct.
21	William C. Adamson	NY	1854–1929	1917–1926	—	—	Wilson	reassignment to Cust Ct.
22	George Emery Weller	NY	1857–1932	1919–1926	—	—	Wilson	reassignment to Cust Ct.
23	George M. Young	NY	1870–1932	1924–1926	—	—	Coolidge	reassignment to Cust Ct.

1. Removed from office by William McKinley.
2. Removed from office by William Howard Taft.
3. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 15, 1899, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 17, 1900, and received commission on January 22, 1900.
4. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 5, 1900, confirmed by the Senate on December 10, 1900, date of commission is unknown.
5. Recess appointment; formally nominated on November 10, 1903, confirmed by the Senate on December 7, 1903, and received commission on December 8, 1903.
6. Recess appointment; formally nominated on November 10, 1903, confirmed by the Senate on November 24, 1903, and received commission on November 25, 1903.
7. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 8, 1908, confirmed by the Senate on January 11, 1909, and received commission on January 15, 1909.

Chief judges

President (Board of General Appraisers) Tichenor 1890–1897 Ham 1897–1902 Fischer 1902–1905 De Vries 1906–1910 Somerville 1910–1914 Sullivan 1914–1925 Howell 1925–1926

Chief Judge (Customs Court) Howell 1926–1927 Fischer 1927–1932 Young 1932–1932 Tilson 1932–1934 McClelland 1934–1939 Brown 1939–1940 Oliver 1940–1965 Rao 1965–1971 Boe 1971–1977 Re 1977–1980

Chief Judge (Court of International Trade) Re 1980–1991 DiCarlo 1991–1996 Carman 1996–2003 Restani 2003–2010 Pogue 2010–2014 Stanceu 2014–2021 Barnett 2021–present

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to the Court of International Trade, and preside over any panel on which they serve unless circuit judges are also on the panel.^[5] Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge. A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

Under the Board of General Appraisers, the position of Chief Judge was entitled "President". When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire on what has since 1958 been known as senior status or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

Seat 1 Seat established on June 10, 1890, by 26 Stat. 131, 136 Wilkinson, Jr. 1890–1899 De Vries 1900–1910 Cooper 1910–1918 Weller 1919–1930 Kincheloe 1930–1948 Rao 1948–1988 Goldberg 1991–2001 Stanceu 2003–2021 Laroski 2024–present

Seat 2 Seat established on June 10, 1890, by 26 Stat. 131, 136 Sharpe 1890–1899 Howell 1899–1927 Tilson 1928–1949 Ford 1949–1985 Musgrave 1987–1997 Eaton 1999–2014 Reif 2019–present

Seat 3 Seat established on June 10, 1890, by 26 Stat. 131, 136 Ham 1890–1902 Waite 1902–1930 Evans 1931–1941 Ekwall 1942–1956 Richardson 1957–1982 Carman 1983–2014 Groves 2016–present

Seat 4 Seat established on June 10, 1890, by 26 Stat. 131, 136 Shurtleff 1890–1899 Fischer 1899–1932 Dallinger 1932–1942 Lawrence 1943–1965 Landis, Jr. 1965–1983 Aquilino, Jr. 1985–2004 Gordon 2006–2019 Wang 2024–present

Seat 5 Seat established on June 10, 1890, by 26 Stat. 131, 136 Tichenor 1890–1902 Hay 1903–1923 Young 1924–1932 Keefe 1933–1947 Johnson 1947–1963 Watson 1966–1991 Pogue 1995–2014 Baker 2019–present

Seat 6 Seat established on June 10, 1890, by 26 Stat. 131, 136 Sharretts 1890–1913 Sullivan 1913–1939 Walker 1940–1945 Mollison 1945–1962 Nichols, Jr. 1964–1966 Maletz 1967–1982 Restani 1983–2015 Katzmann 2016–present

Seat 7 Seat established on June 10, 1890, by 26 Stat. 131, 136 Somerville 1890–1915 Adamson 1917–1928 Cline 1928–1953 Alger 1955–1966 Newman 1968–1983 DiCarlo 1984–1996 Barzilay 1998–2011 Barnett 2013–present

Seat 8 Seat established on June 10, 1890, by 26 Stat. 131, 136 Stackpole 1890 Lunt 1891–1908 Chamberlain 1908–1913 Brown 1913–1941 Cole, Jr. 1942–1952 Wilson 1954–1966 Beckworth 1967–1968 Re 1968–1991 Wallach 1995–2011 Kelly 2013–present

Seat 9 Seat established on June 10, 1890, by 26 Stat. 131, 136 Jewell 1890–1903 McClelland 1903–1939 Oliver 1940–1967 Rosenstein 1968–1970 Boe 1971–1984 Tsoucalas 1986–1996 Ridgway 1998–2019 Vaden 2020–present

References

1. "About the Court". Court of International Trade. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
2. "About the Court". Court of International Trade. Jurisdiction of the Court. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
3. Patrick C. Reed, The Origins and Creation of the Board of General Appraisers, pp. 92-92.
4. "28 U.S. Code § 251 - Appointment and number of judges; offices".
5. History of the United States Court of International Trade.
6. Jo Freeman, A Room at a Time: How Women Entered Party Politics, 2002: Rowman and Littlefield, p. 216 (ISBN 084769805X)
7. "The Coolidge Week", Time, May 14, 1928
8. William Ganson Rose, Cleveland: the Making of a City, 1990: Kent State Univ. Press, p. 854 (ISBN 0873384288)
9. "U.S. Customs Court: Legislative History – Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
10. Casey Nelson Blake, "Tilted Arc, and the Crisis of Public Art" in The Power of Culture: Critical Essays in American History (eds. Richard Wightman Fox & T. J. Jackson Lears), pp. 260–61, 278.
11. Public Law 108-70, 108th United States Congress.
12. Gregory W. Carman, Jurisdiction and the Court of International Trade: Remarks of the Honorable Gregory W. Carman at the Conference on International Business Practice Presented by the Center for Dispute Resolution on February 27–28, 1992, 13 Nw. J. Int'l L. & Bus. 245 (1992-1993). Retrieved from https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1357&context=njilb.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to James L. Watson Court of International Trade.

• United States Court of International Trade, official site
• History of the court from the Federal Judicial Center