Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals

Congress created the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals (TECA) in 1971, 85 Stat. 749, specifically to hear cases from district courts regarding the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 799). The idea for TECA grew out of the Emergency Court of Appeals (1942–61), which had adjudicated price control measures passed during World War II. TECA had nine judges and its own set of rules and procedures for its first case in February 1972. The act that created TECA expired in 1972, but Congress enacted the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973 (82 Stat. 627), which granted it authority over controversies arising from the new law. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (89 Stat. 871) and the Emergency Natural Gas Act of 1977 (91 Stat. 4) further elongated TECA's existence and expanded its oversight. In 1992, however, TECA ceased to exist when the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal (D.C.) Circuit assumed its duties and abolished it by an act of October 29, 1992, effective April 30, 1993, 106 Stat. 4507.