A 96-year-old U.S. federal appeals court judge was banned from hearing cases for a year on Wednesday after a panel said she refused to undergo medical examinations amid concerns that she was no longer fit. mentally fit to hold office.
It’s the latest development in an unusually public and bitter fight over whether Judge Pauline Newman should continue serving on the Washington-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that has sparked a lawsuit and turned the justices against each other. .
Newman, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan who has been on the court for nearly four decades, insists she remains physically and mentally fit to decide questions of law, and has accused her colleagues of making unfounded claims in an effort to oust her. because of his age.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is one of the 13 courts of appeals in the United States. He hears cases on issues such as government contracts, patents and trademarks. Federal judges chosen by presidents and confirmed by the U.S. Senate are appointed for life, and there is no mandatory retirement age.
The Federal Circuit Judicial Council, which is made up of Newman’s colleagues, said the suspension was necessary because the court’s longest-serving judge will not cooperate with an investigation into his mental health despite “reasonable concerns” that he she “suffers from an illness.” disability that prevents him from effectively performing the functions of his position.”
Federal Judge Pauline Newman has been barred from hearing cases over concerns about her mental fitness. AP
The Federal Circuit Judicial Council banned Judge Newman after she refused to cooperate with an investigation into her health. AP
Judge Pauline Newman denies she is mentally incapacitated. AP
The Judicial Council order said the suspension could be renewed after one year if she continues not to cooperate, or could be rescinded if she chooses to comply. The decision suspended her from hearing new cases, although there are no old cases either because she had already been suspended since April in the middle of the investigation, according to her lawyer, Greg Dolin.
Dolin said they will seek a review from another committee that oversees judicial conduct nationwide. He said they believe the sanction is “flatly illegal” and that the process has been seriously flawed.
“The Judicial Council has been willing to consider as fact any accusation to support what appears to be a predetermined conclusion,” he said.
“Instead, Chief Judge Moore and the committee she appointed have been interested in one thing and one thing only: keeping Judge Newman off the bench through the exercise of pure power unfettered by legal requirements, constitutional limits , any notion of due process, conflict of interest rules, or even basic justice,” they wrote.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn