โ๏ธ 98-Year-Old Federal Judge Seeks U.S. Supreme Court Review of Suspension
A major dispute over judicial independence is now heading toward the Supreme Court of the United States.
Pauline Newman, the oldest active federal judge at age 98 and a longtime member of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, has asked the Court to hear her challenge to an ongoing suspension from judicial duties.
Judge Newman argues that the Federal Circuit unconstitutionally removed her from active service during an investigation into her fitness to serve. She maintains that the process undermines judicial independence and threatens the constitutional protections granted to federal judges.
๐ฌ โThe impact on judicial independence is powerful. This is not what the Constitution intended for a balanced government,โ Newman said in remarks to Reuters.
Her attorney, Mark Chenoweth of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, warned that allowing judges to be sidelined in this way could weaken the lifetime tenure protections guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.
The dispute traces back to actions taken in 2023 by Kimberly Moore, Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit, who cited concerns about serious cognitive and physical impairment and stated that Judge Newman refused to cooperate with an investigation into her health.
A judicial council later voted to suspend her. Courts subsequently upheld the judiciaryโs authority to discipline its members, but Newman argues the suspension exceeds the Federal Circuitโs constitutional authority.
The Federal Circuit, which handles patent appeals nationwide and frequently decides high-stakes intellectual property disputes involving major companies, has long counted Newman as a respected jurist and prominent dissenter.
โ๏ธ Key Question:
Can a federal court suspend one of its own judges indefinitely during a fitness investigation โ or does that violate the constitutional protections of judicial tenure?
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