Commerce and Trade - 15 USC Section 29

01/03/05

Sec. 29. Appeals

(a) Court of appeals; review by Supreme Court
Except as otherwise expressly provided by this section, in every
civil action brought in any district court of the United States
under the Act entitled "An Act to protect trade and commerce
against unlawful restraints and monopolies", approved July 2, 1890,
or any other Acts having like purpose that have been or hereafter
may be enacted, in which the United States is the complainant and
equitable relief is sought, any appeal from a final judgement
entered in any such action shall be taken to the court of appeals
pursuant to sections 1291 and 2107 of title 28. Any appeal from an
interlocutory order entered in any such action shall be taken to
the court of appeals pursuant to sections 1292(a)(1) and 2107 of
title 28 but not otherwise. Any judgment entered by the court of
appeals in any such action shall be subject to review by the
Supreme Court upon a writ of certiorari as provided in section
1254(1) of title 28.
(b) Direct appeals to Supreme Court
An appeal from a final judgment pursuant to subsection (a) of
this section shall lie directly to the Supreme Court, if, upon
application of a party filed within fifteen days of the filing of a
notice of appeal, the district judge who adjudicated the case
enters an order stating that immediate consideration of the appeal
by the Supreme Court is of general public importance in the
administration of justice. Such order shall be filed within thirty
days after the filing of a notice of appeal. When such an order is
filed, the appeal and any cross appeal shall be docketed in the
time and manner prescribed by the rules of the Supreme Court. The
Supreme Court shall thereupon either (1) dispose of the appeal and
any cross appeal in the same manner as any other direct appeal
authorized by law, or (2) in its discretion, deny the direct appeal
and remand the case to the court of appeals, which shall then have
jurisdiction to hear and determine the same as if the appeal and
any cross appeal therein had been docketed in the court of appeals
in the first instance pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

AMENDMENTS
1974 - Pub. L. 93-528 substituted provisions for appeals to the
court of appeals from civil actions in district courts where
equitable relief is sought, review by the Supreme Court of
judgments of courts of appeals, and for direct appeals to the
Supreme Court of cases involving general public importance, for
provisions that appeals from final judgments of district courts lie
to the Supreme Court only.
1948 - Act June 25, 1948, amended section generally to strike out
provisions relating to time for appeal, procedure, etc. See
sections 2101 and 2109 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial
Procedure.
1944 - Act June 9, 1944, provided for certification of case to
circuit court of appeals when there was no quorum of Justices of
the Supreme Court qualified to participate in the consideration of
the case and for designation of circuit judges in the event of
disqualification from hearing the case.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1974 AMENDMENT
Section 7 of Pub. L. 93-528 provided that: "The amendment made by
section 5 of this Act [amending this section] shall not apply to an
action in which a notice of appeal to the Supreme Court has been
filed on or before the fifteenth day following the date of
enactment of this Act [Dec. 21, 1974]. Appeal in any such action
shall be taken pursuant to the provisions of section 2 of the Act
of February 11, 1903 (32 Stat. 823), as amended (15 U.S.C. 29;
[former] 49 U.S.C. 45) which were in effect on the day preceding
the date of enactment of this Act."
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1948 AMENDMENT
Section 38 of act June 25, 1948, provided that the amendment made
by that act is effective Sept. 1, 1948.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1944 AMENDMENT
The last paragraph of act June 9, 1944, provided: "This Act [this
section] shall apply to every case pending before the Supreme Court
of the United States on the date of its enactment [June 9, 1944]."
SHORT TITLE
Act Feb. 11, 1903, which enacted sections 28 and 29 of this
title, is commonly known as the "Expediting Act".

Last modified: June 14, 2006