98-year-old US judge loses another challenge to her suspension

By Blake Brittain

March 24 (Reuters) - The federal court system's governing body on Tuesday rejected another bid by U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, who at 98 years old is the oldest active federal judge, to overturn her ongoing suspension from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Judicial Conference of the United States' Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability upheld the Federal Circuit's decision from last year to extend Newman's suspension after she allegedly stonewalled her court's investigation into her fitness to serve.

• Newman, a prominent figure in patent law and appointee of Republican U.S. President Ronald Reagan, was suspended by a council of her court's fellow judges in 2023 for refusing to cooperate with its investigation into allegations of serious cognitive and physical impairment.

• Newman has maintained that she is fit to serve and sued the council in federal court. She appealed her losses in those cases to the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month.

• The Judicial Conference separately denied her request to review the Federal Circuit's renewal of her suspension on Tuesday. It previously rejected her challenge to her initial suspension in 2024.

• "I suppose it's my age that's really behind all of this," Newman told Reuters on Tuesday.

• Newman said that the only reason she has not retired since the dispute started is the hope that she can "somehow, by continuing to grumble about it, keep this from becoming the law of the land."

• Newman's attorney Andrew Morris of the New Civil Liberties Alliance said they were disappointed with the decision and would consider next steps. A spokesperson for the Federal Circuit declined to comment.