98-year-old US appeals judge loses bid to revive lawsuit over her suspension

By Blake Brittain

Aug 22(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday denied a bid by U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman to reinstate a lawsuit challenging her suspension from serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where she had heard cases since 1984.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Newman's argument that the law governing her suspension was unconstitutional. Newman, at 98 years old, is the oldest federal judge not to have taken the form of semi-retirement known as senior status.

Newman's attorney, John Vecchione, said he was evaluating the opinion and that it "ended with a thoughtful discussion of the seriousness of Judge Newman’s position and avenues of possible redress, as well as a critique of its own precedent."

A spokesperson for the Federal Circuit did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision.

The Washington-based Federal Circuit handles patent appeals nationwide and frequently rules on high-stakes intellectual property cases involving major companies. Newman, who was appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan, is a respected figure in patent law and a prominent dissenter at the court.

Chief Federal Circuit Judge Kimberly Moore said in orders made public in 2023 that Newman had shown signs of serious cognitive and physical impairment. The circuit's Judicial Council, consisting of the court's active judges, suspended Newman later that year after finding that she refused to cooperate with an investigation into her fitness.

Newman has maintained that she is fit to serve and sued the council over her suspension in Washington, D.C., district court. A judge there dismissed Newman's case last year after finding that courts have "consistently affirmed the judiciary's authority to police itself."

Newman's attorney told the D.C. Circuit on appeal that her suspension, which can be renewed annually, amounted to an unconstitutional impeachment that only Congress could legally perform.

The Federal Circuit extended Newman's suspension in July for another year.

Newman also lost a related challenge to her suspension last year at the Judicial Conference of the United States, the federal court system's governing body.

The D.C. Circuit said on Friday that even though Newman had raised "important and serious" constitutional questions about her treatment, it could only consider her challenge to the law governing judicial suspensions, and that "any recourse for Judge Newman must come from a judicial council or from the Judicial Conference."