I saw Judge Newman (with Judge Lourie and former Judge O'Malley) speak at the USPTO three weeks ago. (I was there speaking on patent ethics.) Judge Newman was eloquent, coherent, cogent, and spoke passionately about various topics, including section 101 (which requires a bit of mental agility, I would say). [27]
The initial report by Gene Quinn for IPWatchdog noted that "Newman has filed dissenting opinions in at least two recent cases that show no signs she is suffering from any disability", stating that these were "classic Newman dissents, do not read as if they were written by law clerks, and do not show signs of decline or disability". [26] In June 2023, former Chief Judge Randall Rader stated in The Washington Post that he had spoken with Newman recently, and that she was "the same Polly I knew 10 or 20 years ago—as sharp as ever". [3]
On April 14, the Federal Circuit Judicial Council released a statement and unsealed orders dated March 24, 2023, and April 13, 2023. [28] The March 24, 2023, order stated that unnamed court staff and judges had raised concerns about potential impairments of Newman's cognitive abilities and other concerns. [29]
Quinn questioned why Newman would have been offered an opportunity to assume senior status, and continue hearing cases in that status, if there were questions about her competence to hear cases at all. [26] In a report for Bloomberg Law , professor Arthur Hellman of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law noted that senior status judges only hear cases "at the pleasure of the chief judge", and speculated that the prospect of getting no cases could explain why Newman would have rejected going to senior status. [24] In an interview with The Washington Post, Newman explained her refusal to leave office, "It's important to the nation, if I can say so... I feel that I can make a contribution and must. That's what I was appointed to do". [3]
Lawsuit
On May 10, Newman filed a lawsuit against Moore and others on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, to prevent them from investigating whether she could continue to serve as a circuit judge of the court because of her health. [30] [31] The filing noted that Newman had been given "only a few days to comply with requests for mental evaluations and her private medical records". [30] On May 16, the Federal Circuit ordered Newman to release her medical records to investigate her alleged cognitive decline. [32] [33] On May 18, in response to the controversy, the office of United States House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan stated that "Judge Newman is an exemplary jurist who has long stood for the Constitution and earned every right to keep her seat on the bench and make decisions about her future herself." [34]
On June 6, it was announced that Newman would not be assigned to hear new cases until the investigation is complete. [35] [36] At the same time, it was reported that the focus of the investigation had shifted from the judge's competency to her alleged failure to cooperate with the investigation by refusing to turn over medical records and submit to a neurological examination, [37] [38] [39] a development referred to in a Law360 piece as "Kafkaesque". [40]
On June 28, Bloomberg News reported that Newman's lawyers, with the New Civil Liberties Alliance, had filed information with the court stating that Ted L. Rothstein, a neurologist and professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences had "examined the judge and found 'no significant cognitive deficits'", concluding that her "cognitive function is sufficient to continue her participation in her court's proceedings". [41] [42] A Bloomberg reporter who sat with Newman for an hour-long interview for the story described Newman as "fully in command, answering questions about complicated legal matters with authority while shuffling large case binders around her office without assistance". [41] In September 2023, Newman's NCLA lawyers released an additional report from forensic psychiatrist Regina Carney finding Newman to be an "unusually cognitively intact 96-year-old woman" with "no evidence of current substantial medical, psychiatric, or cognitive disability". [43]
On July 11, Judge Christopher R. Cooper of the District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order requiring the parties to the dispute to enter into mediation, to be conducted by retired D.C. Circuit Judge Thomas B. Griffith. [44] On August 4, 2023, a Federal Circuit panel, composed of Judges Moore, Sharon Prost, and Richard G. Taranto, recommended suspending Newman from hearing cases for one year over her alleged failure to cooperate with the investigation. [45] Rothstein, the neurologist, criticized the court for misrepresenting his findings in the document recommending Newman's suspension. [46] Judge Edith Jones of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in a letter subsequently published in The Wall Street Journal , described the refusal of the Federal Circuit to transfer the case to another circuit for review as "inexplicable". [47] [48]
Suspension
On September 20, 2023, Newman was suspended by the Federal Circuit's Judicial Council from hearing new cases for one year. [1] [49] [50] The suspension is renewable, should Newman not comply with the Judicial Council's requests. [51] Newman is expected to appeal on constitutional grounds, with Professor Hellman noting that "it is the functional equivalent of removing the judge from office". [49] Following the suspension, former Chief Judge Rader published an open letter in IP Watchdog stating that Newman "does not suffer from the slightest mental decline", and imploring the members of the court to "act with kindness and consideration". [52] Former Chief Judge Paul Redmond Michel also published such a letter, expressing concerns about the effect of these proceedings on "first, the integrity of the court; second, the interests of parties seeking justice at the Federal Circuit; and third, procedural fairness and balance". [42]
On February 7, 2024, the United States Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability declined Newman's appeal to that body, and on February 12, the District Court dismissed six of the eleven counts brought in Newman's lawsuit, while allowing five to go forward. [53] On September 6, 2024, the suspension was extended for another year, with the explanation that the suspension would be renewed if Newman continued to defy the court's orders. [54]
In late August 2024, Newman received imaging (including a perfusion CT) and a neurological exam by a neurosurgeon who is also an attorney. A report of the findings dated September 17, 2024, stated that Newman possesses an "extraordinarily high level of cognitive ability" and deemed her "cognitively fit to return to active duty". [55] [56] [57]
See also
References
- 1 2 "A 96-year-old federal judge is barred from hearing cases in a bitter fight over her mental fitness". AP News. September 20, 2023.
- ↑ "The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: A History, 1982–1990". United States Judicial Conference Committee on the Bicentennial of the Constitution of the United States. May 18, 1991 – via Google Books.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Weiner, Rachel (June 6, 2023). "Colleagues want a 95-year-old judge to retire; She's suing them instead". The Washington Post .
- 1 2 3 4 Daryl Lim, "I Dissent: The Federal Circuit's "Great Dissenter", Her Influence on the Patent Dialogue, and Why It Matters", 19 Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law (Summer 2017), Vol. 19, Iss. 4.
- 1 2 NYU School of Law, Law Women Alumna of the Year: Judge Pauline Newman '58, YouTube (Feb. 19, 2013), Archived. Lynn Levine, Senior of Counsel in the Intellectual Property Group at Morrison and Foerster was the co-honoree.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Congressional Directory for the 112th Congress (2011-2012), December 2011. -. Joint Committee on Printing. December 2011. p. 855. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- 1 2 "Judge Biographies". United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Archived from the original on September 23, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
- ↑ Oppel, Richard A. (June 12, 1999). "Giles S. Rich, Oldest Active Federal Judge, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: A History: 1990–2002. Compiled by members of the Advisory Council to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in celebration of the court's twentieth anniversary. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. 2004. LCCN 2004050209.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ↑ "Judge Pauline Newman '58 honored by NYU Law Women as Alumna of the Year". NYU Law. February 20, 2013.
- ↑ Randolph, Elizabeth (April 2, 2015). "Vassar Inaugurates: New Science, Technology, and Society Lecture Series". Vassar Today.
- ↑ Gurrieri, Vin (March 8, 2016). "Newman Cements Status As Fed. Circ.'s Great Dissenter". Law360 .
- ↑ "Judge Pauline Newman: 2018 Lewis F. Powell, Jr., Award for Professionalism and Ethics". American Inns of Court . Retrieved April 8, 2023.
- ↑ "Pauline Newman Program: Science, Technology, and International Law". NYU Law. October 28, 2022.
- ↑ Brittain, Blake (September 15, 2023). "Embattled US appeals judge takes stage at vaccine law conference". Reuters.
- ↑ Williams, Chris (September 18, 2023). "Pauline Newman Speaks At Vaccine Law Conference - Above the Law".
- ↑ 958 F.2d 1053 (Fed. Cir. 1992).
- ↑ 83 F.3d 1394 (Fed. Cir. 1996).
- ↑ Intergraph Corporation v. Intel Corporation , 195 F.3d 1346 (Fed. Cir. 1999).
- ↑ 264 F. 3d 1094 (Fed. Cir. 2001).
- ↑ Schooner, Steven L. (2011-04-14). A Random Walk: The Federal Circuit's 2010 Government Contracts Decisions. Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network. SSRN 1809917.
- ↑ Quinn, Gene; Braman, Nancy (July 16, 2019). "Consider the Courage of Judge Newman at the Federal Circuit". IPWatchdog.
- ↑ McDermott, Eileen (April 6, 2023). "Newman Dissents from CAFC View that SAS Failed to Show Copyrightability of Nonliteral Elements of Software Programs". IPWatchdog.
- 1 2 Setty, Riddhi; Shapiro, Michael (April 13, 2023). "Federal Circuit Chief Moore Takes Action to Unseat Judge Newman". Bloomberg Law .
- ↑ Brittain, Blake; Goudsward, Andrew (April 14, 2023). "U.S. appeals court judge faces rare probe into competency, misconduct". Reuters .
- 1 2 3 Quinn, Gene (April 12, 2023). "Chief Judge Moore Petitioning to Oust Judge Newman from Federal Circuit". IPWatchdog.
- ↑ Hricik, David (April 14, 2023). "An Opinion on Chief Judge Moore's Reported Unprecedented Effort to Remove Judge Newman". Patently-O .
- ↑ "Statement of the Judicial Council of the Federal Circuit". April 14, 2023.
- ↑ "March 24, 2023 Order" (PDF). March 24, 2023.
- 1 2 Brittain, Blake. "US appeals court judge sues to halt competency probe". Reuters. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
- ↑ "Newman v. Moore, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, 1:23-cv-01334 - CourtListener.com". CourtListener.
- ↑ Griffis, Kelcee. "'Paranoid' Incidents Necessitate Newman Exam, Fed. Cir. Says". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
- ↑ Thomsen, Jacqueline. "US federal judge, 95, faces fresh competency claims as she fights probe". Reuters. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
- ↑ Griffis, Kelcee; Iafolla, Robert (May 18, 2023). "Medical Exam Demands and Aging Judges: Newman Saga Explained". Bloomberg Law.
- ↑ "IN RE COMPLAINT NO. 23-90015" (PDF). cafc.uscourts.gov. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ↑ Griffs, Kelcee (June 5, 2023). "Newman Again Denied New Cases Amid Judicial Fitness Probe (1)". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ↑ Goudsward, Andrew (June 6, 2023). "Probe of US appeals judge to focus on failure to cooperate". Reuters .
- ↑ "96-Year-Old Judge's Fitness Hearing Will Stay Closed to Public". Bloomberg Law.
- ↑ "Order" (PDF). June 20, 2023.
- ↑ Michaels, Andrew (June 6, 2023). "Judge Newman's Recent Dissents Show She Is Fit For Service". Law360 .
- 1 2 Griffis, Kelcee (June 28, 2023). "Judge, 96, Mourns Tarnished Legacy While Saying She Won't Leave". Bloomberg News .
- 1 2 Michel, Paul (July 9, 2023). "Chief Judge Moore v. Judge Newman: An Unacceptable Breakdown of Court Governance, Collegiality and Procedural Fairness". IPWatchdog.
- ↑ Thomas, David (September 7, 2023). "Lawyers say exam shows 96-year-old US appeals judge still fit to serve". Reuters .
- ↑ Goudsward, Andrew (July 11, 2023). "Clash over US judge's competency probe heads into mediation" – via www.reuters.com.
- ↑ Shapiro, Michael (August 4, 2023). "96-Year Old Judge Newman Faces Year Suspension After Panel Vote". Bloomberg Law.
- ↑ Shapiro, Michael (August 8, 2023). "Doctor Who Examined 96-Year-Old Judge Slams Suspension, Report". Bloomberg Law .
- ↑ Jones, Edith H. (August 15, 2023). "Federal Judges Deserve Due Process, Too". The Wall Street Journal .
- ↑ Goudsward, Andrew (August 16, 2023). "US appeals judge faults probe of Federal Circuit's Pauline Newman". Reuters .
- 1 2 Weiner, Rachel (September 20, 2023). "96-year-old judge who refuses to retire suspended for 'misconduct'". The Washington Post.
- ↑ "IN RE COMPLAINT NO. 23-90015: Order of the Judicial Council of the Federal Circuit" (PDF). September 20, 2023.
- ↑ Shapiro, Michael. "Embattled 96-Year-Old Judge Suspended in Disability Probe". Bloomberg Law.
- ↑ Rader, Randall (September 21, 2023). "An Open Letter to Circuit Judges on the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit".
- ↑ Weiss, Debra Cassens (February 12, 2024). "Federal judge refuses to order reinstatement of 96-year-old federal appeals judge, her second loss in a week". Bloomberg Law .
- ↑ Raymond, Nate. "Court extends suspension of 97-year-old US federal judge". Reuters. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ↑ Weiss, Debra Cassens (25 September 2024). "Suspended federal appeals judge, 97, has 'extraordinarily high level of cognitive ability,' evaluation says". ABA Journal. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ↑ McDermott, Eileen (24 September 2024). "Neurosurgeon Attests to Judge Newman's 'Extraordinarily High Level of Cognitive Ability'". IPWatchdog.com. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
- ↑ Filler, Aaron (September 17, 2024). "Consultation Report" (PDF). New Civil Liberties Alliance. Institute For Nerve Medicine. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
External links
- Pauline Newman at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges , a publication of the Federal Judicial Center .
- Judge Newman speaks about the Federal Circuit [usurped]
Pauline Newman | |
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| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit | |
| Assumed office February 28, 1984 Hiatus since September 20, 2023 [1] |
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