Some of the most consequential cases that the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed last term had something in common: They first were heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The Fifth Circuit set the stage for major issues–-often dealing with administrative law–-that went before the justices, including the Securities and Exchange Commission’s administrative authority to issue financial penalties (which the Supreme Court struck down in SEC v. Jarkesy) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding structure (which the justices upheld in CFPB  v. Community Financial Services Association Ltd.).