The oldest federal judge in the nation is suing her colleagues after she was suspended from hearing cases in D.C.
Judge Pauline Newman, 96, has sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals since 1984. She has been hailed as a pioneer in the federal court system.
Last month, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Judge Kimberly Moore, and several colleagues suspended Newman over concerns that she “may be experiencing significant mental problems, including memory loss, lack of comprehension, confusion and an inability to perform basic tasks that she previously was able to perform with ease.”
Federal judges are appointed for life and receive their full salary for life, even after they retire. There is no mandatory age at which they must retire.
The suspension could set a dangerous precedent, Newman’s attorney said.
“I think it is really scary because if we give the power to judges, colleagues on the court, to kick them out as opposed to sending such questions to a more neutral tribunal, that both destroys collegiality of the courts and destroys judicial independence,” Gregory Dolin said.
In her lawsuit, Newman argued she was denied due process, which the court addressed in its filings.
The drama over Newman began behind closed doors and became public after she refused requests to step down or be evaluated by doctors at the court’s urging. Newman has seen her own doctors, her lawyer said.
“It's not a question of whether Judge Newman will see one set of doctors or another, although of course in our country we don't force people to go through medical procedures. But that's not the key point,” he said. “The key point is that this entire process through which Judge Newman was subjected was devoid of basic guarantees of due process.”
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The controversy comes as the age of elected federal officials has become part of the ongoing political debate.
Newman has not been assigned any new cases since earlier this year but continues to work, her attorney said.
