Six Retired Judges Back Newman’s Appeal Challenging Suspension

The Federal Circuit circumvented the US Senate and dealt a blow to the independence of all federal judges when it suspended 97-year-old Judge Pauline Newman, six retired judges argued in an amicus brief backing Newman’s appeal challenging her suspension from hearing cases.

The six judges urged the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn a lower court decision dismissing Newman’s lawsuit, according to the brief filed Thursday.

The “long-term deprivation of Judge Newman’s judicial authority is impossible to distinguish from an outright removal from office given her advanced age,” the judges wrote.

The six former judges who ...