‘Deeply troubling interactions’: Oldest federal judge’s ‘continuing misconduct’ leads to judicial panel recommending 1-year suspension

Two weeks after 97-year-old U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman lost a lawsuit against her fellow circuit judges for suspending her from the bench, a committee of judges on the judicial council recommended extending Newman’s suspension for an additional year.

Newman, the oldest judge on the federal bench, was appointed in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan and was the first judge appointed directly to the Federal Circuit. Though hailed as the “heroine of the patent system” by her colleagues, Newman was suspended after she refused to cooperate with an investigation into her mental health.

The investigation was instigated when multiple courthouse employees reported lengthy delays in Newman’s completing work, multiple instances of inappropriate behavior, and repeated concerns that the judge was habitually confused. The Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability conducted the investigation into Newman’s mental capacity and found “overwhelming evidence” of the judge’s memory loss, lack of comprehension, and confusion, and determined that the judge was often “frustrated, agitated, belligerent, and hostile towards court staff.”

“Affidavits prepared after more than 20 interviews with Court staff reflect consistent reports of deeply troubling interactions with Judge Newman that suggest significant mental deterioration including memory loss, confusion, lack of comprehension, paranoia, anger, hostility, and severe agitation,” the committee said. “Critically, these reports are not isolated incidents of occasional forgetfulness based on a few interactions with only one or two staffers. To the contrary, they come from interactions with staff members across a broad range of departments from the Clerk’s Office to Information Technology (IT), to Human Resources (HR), to the General Counsel Office, to Judge Newman’s own chambers staff.

The committee also noted that “Judge Newman has never specifically disputed any of the staff accounts, many of which are independently substantiated by Judge Newman’s own emails attached as exhibits.”

Newman was directed by the committee to meet with a neurologist and complete a full neuropsychological examination. Newman refused to attend either meeting and refused to provide any records. The committee responded with a suspension order that blocked Newman from receiving any new case assignments.

The investigative committee issued a 38-page report Wednesday in which a trio of judges unanimously recommended that Newman be suspended for an additional year, “or at least until she ceases her misconduct and cooperates such that the Committee can complete its investigation, whichever comes sooner.” The judges who comprised the committee were Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Kimberly A. Moore and U.S. Circuit Judges Sharon Prost, and Richard G. Taranto.

The panel specifically noted that the additional suspension “is not for past misconduct,” but rather, addresses “Judge Newman’s continuing misconduct through her continuing refusal to cooperate with the Committee’s orders.”

“Judge Newman could, any day, agree to undergo the specified medical examinations and to provide her medical records as ordered by the Committee,” said the report. “Her misconduct is thwarting the investigation and making it impossible for the Committee adequately to perform the important function of determining whether she is fit to perform the duties of her office.”

In Newman’s lawsuit — the dismissal of which she appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on July 18 — the nonagenarian challenged not only the actions taken against her but also the provisions of the Judicial Conduct & Disability Act that the committee relied upon in issuing the suspension order. U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper, a Barack Obama appointee, dismissed the case and rejected the legal challenges to the underlying Judicial Conduct & Disability Act.

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