Judicial Conduct Panel Denies Judge Newman’s Reinstatement Bid

A panel of seven appellate and district court judges rejected Judge Pauline Newman’s effort to regain her position on the Federal Circuit, where the 98-year-old jurist was suspended by her colleagues.

The administrative committee, part of the US Judicial Conference, said in a Tuesday decision the appeals court’s “renewal of Judge Newman’s suspension is neither contrary to the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act” nor unconstitutional, and the court’s separate decision not to transfer its investigation of Newman to judges in another circuit “does not violate her Fifth Amendment right to procedural due process.”

Newman, the nation’s oldest active federal judge, has been blocked from getting new case assignments for nearly three years. Although the Federal Circuit’s investigation was initially focused on Newman allegedly showing signs of cognitive impairment, the court’s back-to-back one-year suspensions—which Newman had challenged administratively—were issued after she refused to undergo a neuropsychological exam and to turn over certain medical records.