Sheldon Jay Plager is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has special appellate jurisdiction over certain categories of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court system. Specifically, it has exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal cases involving patents, trademark registrations, government contracts, veterans' benefits, public safety officers' benefits, federal employees' benefits, and various other types of cases. The Federal Circuit has no jurisdiction over criminal, bankruptcy, immigration, or U.S. state law cases. It is headquartered at the Howard T. Markey National Courts Building in Washington, DC.