 In some specialized areas of the law , cases are assigned to a court of appeals that possesses expertise in that area of the law . For example , Congress created the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as an exclusive federal court of appeals for patent cases . Congress noted that consolidating cases in a single court of appeals would " strengthen the United States patent system in such a way as to foster technological growth and industrial innovation . " Because of its role as a specialist court , circuit splits rarely exist between the Federal Circuit and other circuit courts of appeal . In his opinion in Markman v. Westview Instruments , Inc . , Justice David Souter observed that avoiding conflicting rulings among circuit courts in patent law cases benefits the economy by providing legal certainty to businesses . 
