97-Year-Old Judge’s Suspension Appeal ‘Meritless,’ Council Says

Judge Pauline Newman’s latest arguments against her suspension are “meritless,” the Federal Circuit’s Judicial Council declared in a brief filed late Thursday with the DC Circuit.

The US Department of Justice’s brief argues that Newman’s constitutional challenge to the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, specifically her claim that her suspension is “an unlawful removal without impeachment,” should be rejected. The brief represents Federal Circuit Chief Judge Kimberly A. Moore and the Judicial Council, which includes all active judges except for the suspended Newman.

Newman—who at 97 is the oldest active federal judge in the country—was suspended by her colleagues after ...