Judge Pauline Newman’s latest arguments against her suspension are “meritless,” the Federal Circuit’s Judicial Council declared in a brief filed late Thursday with the DC Circuit.
The US Department of Justice’s brief argues that Newman’s constitutional challenge to the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, specifically her claim that her suspension is “an unlawful removal without impeachment,” should be rejected. The brief represents Federal Circuit Chief Judge Kimberly A. Moore and the Judicial Council, which includes all active judges except for the suspended Newman.
Newman—who at 97 is the oldest active federal judge in the country—was suspended by her colleagues after refusing to cooperate with an investigation into her mental fitness. She has challenged the benching in an administrative proceeding, and in a lawsuit under appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in Washington, where the Federal Circuit is also located.
Newman is serving a second one-year suspension from hearing new cases on the court with exclusive appellate jurisdiction over patent lawsuits. The suspension, the government argued, is not considered permanent, and could be lifted if Newman agreed to cooperate.
“Congress considered such time-limited suspensions distinct from ‘removal’ from office,” the brief says.
Newman is represented by the New Civil Liberties Alliance.
The case is Newman v. Moore, D.C. Cir., 24-5173, response brief 1/16/25.
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