I believe Monday was the first time that Judge Tiffany Cunningham has sat for oral argument as the Federal Circuit’s newest judge. In her initial panel, she was paired with the Chief Judge and Judge Dyk. I’m not sure if that pairing was the Federal Circuit’s version of hazing or of moral support. Judge Cunningham clerked for Judge Dyk after law school.
Judge Cunningham asked a few questions during the first case for oral argument. You can hear some samples here:
There had been some discussion during the oral argument of not wanting to issue an opinion that ruined the law. During rebuttal, one of the advocates tried to reassure Chief Judge Moore that she would not ruin the law by ruling in his client’s favor. Chief Judge Moore quickly quipped that she knew she wasn’t going to ruin the law. Listen: