The Federal Circuit is different from other federal courts in important ways. Professor Dreyfuss has done pioneering work on the Federal Circuit as an institution and her article in this Symposium extends that work. As a nonexpert on patent law, my contribution to this Symposium is not to offer a substantive critique of the Federal Circuit's patent law jurisprudence. Instead, I will apply the public choice perspective to this particular judicial institution. This perspective includes some background thinking about how the federal judiciary works as an institution and about how judicial background affects how judges decide things.