28 U.S.C. § 255
Section 255 · Three-judge trials
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 42 court decisions — leading case United States v. Yoshida International, Inc. (1975)
Most recently applied in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump (May 2025)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Upon application of any party to a civil action, or upon his own initiative, the chief judge of the Court of International Trade shall designate any three judges of the court to hear and determine any civil action which the chief judge finds: (1) raises an issue of the constitutionality of an Act of Congress, a proclamation of the President or an Executive order; or (2) has broad or significant implications in the administration or interpretation of the customs laws.
(b) A majority of the three judges designated may hear and determine the civil action and all questions pending therein.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Prior Provisions
A prior section 255 was renumbered section 257 of this title.
Amendments
1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–417 redesignated the Customs Court as the Court of International Trade.
Effective Date of 1980 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 96–417 effective Nov. 1, 1980, and applicable with respect to civil actions pending on or commenced on or after such date, see section 701(a) of Pub. L. 96–417, set out as a note under section 251 of this title.
Effective Date
Section effective Oct. 1, 1970, see section 122 of Pub. L. 91–271, set out as a note under section 256 of this title.