On March 22, 1978, Friedman was nominated by President
Jimmy Carter to become
Chief judge of the
United States Court of Claims, to the seat vacated by Chief Judge
Arnold Wilson Cowen. Friedman was confirmed by the
United States Senate on May 17, 1978, and received his commission on May 19, 1978. When the Court of Claims was abolished during the
Reagan Administration he was reassigned on October 1, 1982, by
operation of the
Federal Courts Improvement Act, 96 Stat. 25, to be a United States Circuit Judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He assumed
senior status on November 1, 1989, and served in that capacity until his death on July 6, 2011, in Washington, D.C. ==Legacy==