Doctor Cleared 96-Year-Old Newman for Bench, Amended Suit Says

The oldest federal judge in the nation told a federal court in Washington that she’s healthy enough to get back to work while an investigation into her fitness to remain on the bench plays out.

In a Tuesday amended complaint, Judge Pauline Newman, 96, disclosed that Ted L. Rothstein, a neurologist and a professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, examined her. He saw “no significant cognitive deficits” and concluded that Newman’s “cognitive function is sufficient to continue her participation in her court’s proceedings,” the complaint said.

The filing is the latest development in a lawsuit Newman filed against Chief Judge Kimberly Moore and the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s Judicial Council last month. She seeks to transfer the judicial fitness probe to another circuit for consideration and to be restored to a full case load in the meantime.

Newman also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction Tuesday, saying her suspension since March is “an unconstitutional attack on her judicial independence.”

Her lawsuit counters Moore’s probe initiated under the 1980 Judicial Conduct and Disability Act. It initially focused on Newman’s capabilities to remain on the Federal Circuit, but it’s now been narrowed to discuss whether she had good reason for not complying with a Judicial Council special committee’s request for a medical exam and the release of medical records.

A closed hearing on Newman’s conduct is set for July 13 at the Federal Circuit.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance represents Newman. The US Department of Justice represents the government.

The case is Newman v. Moore, D.D.C., No. 23-cv-01334, motion filed 6/27/23.