{"id":2579574,"date":"2026-03-13T15:01:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T19:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/suspended-98-year-old-federal-judge-takes-her-case-to-supreme-court\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T15:04:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T19:04:25","slug":"suspended-98-year-old-federal-judge-takes-her-case-to-supreme-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/suspended-98-year-old-federal-judge-takes-her-case-to-supreme-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Suspended 98-year-old federal judge takes her case to Supreme Court"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsuspended-98-year-old-federal-judge-takes-her-case-to-supreme-court%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2579574&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, at 98 the oldest active federal judge, has taken her fight over a three-year suspension from the Federal Circuit to the Supreme Court. The suspension, issued in 2023 by a panel on her own court after she refused to comply with an examination of her fitness to serve, followed demands for neuropsychological tests that Newman rejected, saying she has passed other assessments and remains capable.Newman has sued in federal court to overturn the suspension, arguing it unlawfully removes her from the bench and threatens judicial independence and lifetime tenure. Her petition to the Supreme Court asks for review of the judicial council\u2019s orders and whether such suspensions are subject to court review, warning that the continued suspension sets a dangerous precedent. Represented by the New civil Liberties Alliance, her <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >case emphasizes due-process concerns<\/a> and the potential impact on the judiciary\u2019s independence if a judge can be administratively removed by colleagues without merits review. The petition notes that Newman has undergone three expert evaluations confirming her mental fitness, and argues she has remained publicly active in legal matters, underscoring the unprecedented length of her suspension.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Suspended 98-year-old <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-judge-takes-sledgehammer-to-bidens-student-debt-amnesty-but-do-democrats-even-care\/\" title=\"... Takes Sledgehammer To Biden\u2019s Student Debt Amnesty \u2014 But Do Democrats Even Care?\">federal judge takes<\/a> her case to Supreme Court<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2531593\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman has taken her <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3819794\/98-year-old-judge-pauline-newman-asks-full-dc-circuit-hear-challenge-suspension\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3819794\/98-year-old-judge-pauline-newman-asks-full-dc-circuit-hear-challenge-suspension\/\">legal battle against her suspension<\/a> to the Supreme Court, asking the justices in a petition on Thursday to review the multiple orders that have led to her three-year suspension from a federal appeals court.<\/p>\n<p>Newman, 98, was suspended from the U.S. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/appeals-courts\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1537\">Court of Appeals<\/a> for the Federal Circuit in 2023 by a panel on her court after she refused to comply with an investigation into concerns over her fitness to serve. The panel requested neuropsychological tests as part of the investigation, but Newman has rejected taking the request exams, instead pointing to other tests she has passed and insisting she is still fit to serve. Newman has claimed the continued suspensions are unlawful, suing in federal court, but so far has not succeeded in being reinstated.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4489544\/pressure-supreme-court-hear-trump-bids-end-temporary-immigration-protections\/\">Pressure mounts on Supreme Court to hear Trump bids to end temporary immigration protections<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4487912\/doj-asks-supreme-court-allow-end-tps-haiti\/\">DOJ asks Supreme Court to allow end to TPS for Haiti and end &#8216;unsustainable cycle&#8217; of court rulings<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4486263\/jackson-kavanaugh-disagree-supreme-court-donald-trump-joe-biden\/\">Jackson and Kavanaugh disagree over if the Supreme Court treats Trump like Biden<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>In the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/nclalegal.org\/filing\/petition-for-a-writ-of-certiorari-18\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/nclalegal.org\/filing\/petition-for-a-writ-of-certiorari-18\/\">petition<\/a> to the Supreme Court, Newman&rsquo;s lawyers asked the justices to consider hearing her appeal by looking at whether courts can review orders by the judicial council, the judicial body that suspended her, regarding suspensions, as well as whether a person can sue over future unlawful actions by the judicial council. Her lawyers warn that the ongoing suspension, effectively stripping her of her lifetime term as circuit judge, sets a dangerous precedent.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4040585\/where-house-senate-retirements-stand-2026\/\"><strong>HERE&rsquo;S WHERE HOUSE AND SENATE RETIREMENTS STAND IN 2026<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This administrative removal of a judge who is famous for dissenting from her colleagues, by those same colleagues, with judicial refusal to review the merits of the action, undermines the judicial independence that is a vital foundation of our constitutional design. Every judge who gets crosswise with her chief judge or her colleagues must now worry whether similar tactics could be used to remove them,&rdquo; Newman&rsquo;s lawyers said in the petition.<\/p>\n<p>Newman is the oldest active judge in the federal courts system, holding her position on the Federal Circuit since 1984 after being appointed by then-President Ronald Reagan. Her bid to revive her lawsuit has failed in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-announces-new-legal-team-for-impeachment-defense-after-previous-team-collapsed\/\" title=\"Trump Announces New Legal Team For Impeachment Defense After Previous Team Collapsed\">federal district court<\/a> and appeals courts, with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/title-42-may-end-as-soon-as-april\/\" title=\"Title 42 May End as Soon as April\">federal appeals court panel<\/a> on the D.C. Circuit finding that they could not revive the lawsuit under existing precedent but did express concern over due process.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Judge Newman has continued to speak and write before the legal community, and no finding of disability has been made concerning her in the years since the unlawful administrative orders began. She voluntarily underwent and passed three expert evaluations of her mental fitness and was reported as having the mental ability of someone decades younger,&rdquo; the petition to the Supreme Court said.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She now has been suspended longer than any federal judge in history. The length of the suspension, the apparent intention to keep her off the bench permanently, the same judges acting as complainant, witnesses and judges, and the refusal to transfer the matter to another circuit for neutral investigation are unprecedented,&rdquo; the petition continued.<\/p>\n<p>The New Civil Liberties Alliance is representing Newman in her fight to lift the yearslong suspension, and it has stressed that the high court should hear the appellate judge&rsquo;s case, noting the implications it has throughout the federal judiciary.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Judge Newman&rsquo;s case is the most important battle in America to restore judicial independence. If the Great Dissenter&rsquo;s colleagues can remove her from the bench in this slipshod fashion, then other federal judges cannot be secure in their lifetime tenure. Judges everywhere are watching the Supreme Court closely to see what it does,&rdquo; NCLA President and Chief Legal Officer Mark Chenoweth said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4483788\/trump-grapples-with-the-greatest-cost-of-his-war-in-iran-the-human-cost\/\"><strong>TRUMP GRAPPLES WITH THE GREATEST COST OF HIS WAR IN IRAN: THE HUMAN COST<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Newman&rsquo;s suspension in 2023 came at a time when then-President Joe Biden&rsquo;s age and fitness to be commander in chief were under increased scrutiny, with Biden saying at the time that he intended to seek another term in the White House. Biden ultimately ended his reelection bid in July 2024, a month after a disastrous debate against now-President Donald Trump only increased concerns over Biden&rsquo;s fitness for office. Biden was 82 years old when he left office in January 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Trump, who is term-limited, is also one of the oldest presidents in U.S. history, and will be 82 years old when he leaves office in January 2029. As Trump&rsquo;s term has continued, critics have raised concerns about the president&rsquo;s health, particularly about <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4477239\/white-house-doctor-weighs-in-trump-mystery-rash\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4477239\/white-house-doctor-weighs-in-trump-mystery-rash\/\">rashes<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4399897\/trump-white-house-defense-health-concerns\/\">bruises<\/a> that have been seen in recent photographs. The president&rsquo;s doctors have downplayed concerns about his health as minor medical problems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, 98, has asked the Supreme Court to review her three-year suspension from the Federal Circuit. The suspension followed a 2023 process in which a panel cited concerns about her fitness and demanded neuropsychological tests, which Newman refused to take, pointing to other tests she has passed and maintaining she remains capable of serving. She has filed a federal lawsuit to overturn the suspension, but lower courts have not revived her case, citing existing precedent and noting due\u2011process concerns. Newman\u2019s lawyers argue that removing a judge administratively without independent merit review undermines judicial independence and that the case could affect how the judiciary handles sanctions and future actions by the judicial council. The petition asks the Court to consider whether courts can review the council\u2019s suspension orders and whether a person can sue over future actions by the council. Newman is the oldest active federal judge, serving on the Federal Circuit since 1984 after being appointed by Ronald Reagan. She is represented by the New Civil Liberties Alliance, which says the high court\u2019s ruling could have broad implications for the federal judiciary.<\/p>\n<p>55-character title (within limit):<br \/>\n98-year-old judge appeals to Supreme Court<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2579575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP23263674165646-1.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[7420,69262,4151,70735,53182],"class_list":["post-2579574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-appeals","tag-federal-judge-2","tag-judiciary","tag-supreme-court-2","tag-suspension-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP23263674165646-1.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2579574"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2579578,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579574\/revisions\/2579578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2579575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2579574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2579574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2579574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}