In a petition filed on Thursday, Judge Pauline Newman asked the supreme court to lift a suspension that has kept her from hearing new cases for nearly two years, turning a long-running dispute over mental fitness, medical information, and internal judicial discipline into a direct appeal to the nation’s highest court.
What did Judge Pauline Newman ask the Supreme Court to do?
Judge Pauline Newman, described as the oldest active federal judge and set to turn 99 in June, petitioned the US Supreme Court to end her suspension from hearing new cases. She has argued for several years that the suspension amounts to the removal of a federal judge, an action she says is reserved for the US Congress through its impeachment powers.
In the petition, she re-emphasized her view that the benching “threatens the principle of judicial independence and may violate the separation of powers. ” The filing frames her dispute not only as personal relief she is seeking, but also as a constitutional question about the limits of discipline imposed within the judiciary.
Why was Newman suspended, and what has she refused to do?
The suspension stems from a probe into her cognitive abilities and her refusal to cooperate with demands from her colleagues for medical information and an evaluation. Newman has argued that the investigation and the subsequent one-year suspensions violated her due process rights and functioned like an unconstitutional impeachment.
She is known for numerous dissenting opinions, and she and her lawyers have long pledged to take the fight to the supreme court if necessary. Her legal team includes the New Civil Liberties Alliance and Mitchell Law PLLC.
What has happened in court so far, and what path did judges point her toward?
Newman’s lawsuit, filed in May 2023, was rejected by the US District Court for the District of Columbia and the DC Circuit. A three-judge DC Circuit panel said in August it was bound by US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit precedent to uphold the dismissal of her suit. In December, the full appeals court declined her request to rehear the matter en banc.
Newman has also challenged her benching through administrative channels. The DC Circuit panel indicated that route was the proper path for potential relief. Any “recourse for Judge Newman must come from a judicial council or from the Judicial Conference, the entity statutorily empowered to review council decisions, ” the court said.
In her new petition, Newman argues that the Judicial Conference did not address her constitutional objections to the suspension. She also contends that the “seeming absence of a judicial forum to address Newman’s as-applied constitutional claims itself raises constitutional concerns. ”
The case is listed as Newman v. Moore, U. S., petition filed 3/6/26.
