Embattled 96-Year-Old Judge Defended as ‘Brilliant’ by Colleague

Fifth Circuit Judge Edith H. Jones criticized a probe into the mental fitness of 96-year-old Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, calling the process involved “inexplicable.”

Jones, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan who was reportedly on President George W. Bush’s shortlist for the US Supreme Court, wrote in a Wall Street Journal letter to the editor that Newman had been deprived of due process by a special committee of fellow judges from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit investigating Newman’s ability to continue as a judge.

Jones’ letter, published Tuesday, calls Newman “a friend of mine” and ...