{"id":2613040,"date":"2026-06-10T15:30:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T19:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-to-decide-whether-rogue-judges-can-sideline-constitution-to-oust-their-colleague\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T15:33:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T19:33:39","slug":"scotus-to-decide-whether-rogue-judges-can-sideline-constitution-to-oust-their-colleague","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-to-decide-whether-rogue-judges-can-sideline-constitution-to-oust-their-colleague\/","title":{"rendered":"SCOTUS To Decide If Rogue Judges Can Oust Their Colleague"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><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%2Fscotus-to-decide-whether-rogue-judges-can-sideline-constitution-to-oust-their-colleague%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=2613040&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>pauline Newman, a Reagan appointee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, was appointed in 1984 and, at 98, is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/suspended-98-year-old-federal-judge-takes-her-case-to-supreme-court\/\" title=\"Suspended 98-year-old federal ... takes her case to ...\">oldest active federal judge<\/a> in the United States. The Supreme Court is set to consider whether to hear *Newman v. Moore*, a case tied to efforts by fellow judges-led by Chief judge Kimberly Moore-to effectively sideline Newman on grounds of alleged cognitive and physical decline.<\/p>\n<p>Newman\u2019s colleagues launched an investigation in early 2023 and, according to her counsel, placed her under an indefinite restriction from hearing new cases even before the process formally concluded. Newman argues this violates Article III protections for <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" ><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">federal judges<\/a>\u2019 lifetime tenure<\/a> and also conflicts with the 1980 Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, which she says allows only time-limited administrative suspensions with definite end dates, not removal from office.<\/p>\n<p>Her attempts to challenge the suspension were rejected in <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> in 2024 and then again by the D.C. Circuit in August 2025, with courts ruling her claims should be reviewed through the Judicial Conference rather than federal courts. With those avenues fatigued, Newman petitioned the supreme Court in March, arguing that the Act should not bar judicial review of such claims and warning that the approach used by her colleagues could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dems-reportedly-want-to-put-major-russiagate-promoter-on-trump-shooting-panel\/\" title=\"Dems Reportedly Want To Put Major Russiagate Promoter On Trump Shooting Panel\">threaten judicial independence<\/a> for any judge at odds with their chief judge or colleagues.<\/p>\n<p>Newman\u2019s attorneys also dispute the allegations of disability, pointing to purported expert evaluations and a lack of a formal finding of disability since the restrictions began. Her petition emphasizes that the suspension has lasted longer than any federal judge\u2019s in history and argues the process is unprecedented in length and structure,including who initiated and participated in the complaint-like allegations.Supreme Court review will require at least four justices to grant the case before it can be considered by the full court.  <\/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<div>\n<p>Pauline Newman was first appointed to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals by President Reagan in 1984. At 98 years old, she is currently the oldest active federal judge in the United States \u2014 that is, unless her opponents get their way. <\/p>\n<p>During its Thursday conference, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to take up a case (<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/docket\/docketfiles\/html\/public\/25-1101.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Newman v. Moore<\/a><\/em>) involving efforts by Newman\u2019s judicial colleagues to effectively sideline the Constitution to kick her off the bench. Article III of America\u2019s founding legal document <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscourts.gov\/about-federal-courts\/types-federal-judges\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">grants<\/a> federal judges lifetime appointments and states that they can only be removed by Congress via impeachment and conviction. <\/p>\n<p>Newman\u2019s decades of public service came under siege in early 2023 when her court \u2014 led by Chief Judge Kimberly Moore \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/dc-circuit-rejects-98-year-old-federal-circuit-judges-suspension-appeal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">launched<\/a> an investigation into the Reagan appointee\u2019s mental fitness over alleged concerns of cognitive and physical decline. According to Newman\u2019s counsel, the <a href=\"https:\/\/nclalegal.org\/case\/re-complaint-against-circuit-judge-pauline-newman\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA)<\/a>, Moore and the Federal Circuit\u2019s Judicial Council \u201cindefinitely removed Judge Newman from hearing new cases even before beginning a formal investigation into her fitness for office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Newman challenged her suspension on the grounds that the Judicial Council\u2019s actions are unconstitutional and represent a violation of the 1980 Judicial Council Reform and Judicial Conduct and Disability Act (\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/96th-congress\/house-bill\/7974\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Disability Act<\/a>\u201c), which governs the process for filing misconduct and disability complaints against federal judges. As <a href=\"https:\/\/nclalegal.org\/case\/re-complaint-against-circuit-judge-pauline-newman\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">described<\/a> by NCLA, she argued that the Disability Act \u201cpermits administrative suspensions, but only a time-limited suspension with a definite end-date,\u201d and that \u201cit explicitly forbids removing a judge from office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Newman\u2019s legal bid for reinstatement was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/litigation\/us-court-mostly-rejects-96-year-old-judges-lawsuit-over-suspension-2024-02-12\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shot<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/us-judge-97-loses-lawsuit-seeking-reinstatement-2024-07-09\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">down<\/a> in 2024 by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, an Obama appointee known for his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4588097\/who-is-judge-christopher-cooper-trump-kennedy-center\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recent ruling<\/a> against President Trump\u2019s planned Kennedy Center renovations. Citing a past D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision, the D.C.-based judge held that Newman\u2019s claims could only be heard by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscourts.gov\/administration-policies\/governance-judicial-conference\/about-judicial-conference-united-states\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">U.S. Judicial Conference<\/a> and not federal courts.<\/p>\n<p>Cooper\u2019s ruling was later <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/dc-circuit-rejects-98-year-old-federal-circuit-judges-suspension-appeal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">upheld<\/a> by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2025. The three-judge panel, comprised of one Biden and two Obama appointees, similarly claimed, \u201cIn the [Disability] Act\u2019s legislative history, we discerned \u2018clear and convincing\u2019 evidence of Congress\u2019s intent to channel review of as-applied challenges to the Judicial Conference alone and away from federal courts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With nowhere left to turn, Newman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25-1101\/400775\/20260312164901795_Petition.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">petitioned<\/a> the Supreme Court in March to take up her case and decide whether the Disability Act bars claims like hers from undergoing judicial review. The Reagan appointee noted how her colleagues\u2019 actions \u201cundermine[] the judicial independence that is a vital foundation of our constitutional design\u201d and argued that \u201cevery judge who gets crosswise with her chief judge or her colleagues must now worry whether similar tactics could be used to remove them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Newman\u2019s counsel used the petition to take aim at the Federal Circuit Judicial Council\u2019s allegations of cognitive and physical decline by noting that their client \u201chas continued to speak and write before the legal community.\u201d They further noted that \u201cno finding of disability has been made concerning her in the years since the unlawful administrative orders began\u201d and that she \u201cvoluntarily underwent and passed three expert evaluations of her mental fitness and was reported as having the mental ability of someone decades younger.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Newman] 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,\u201d the petition reads. <\/p>\n<p>Under Supreme Court rules, at least four justices must agree to take up <em>Newman v. Moore<\/em> before it can be considered by the full court. <\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">2\/ That is ridiculous! Judge Newman is sharp as a whip and has several doctors reports confirming her competent. And second, this opens the door to a Court deciding conservatives (or liberals) are incompetent to kick them off the court. More here:  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HuHlpYiXkh\">https:\/\/t.co\/HuHlpYiXkh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ProfMJCleveland\/status\/2064728304003719264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<hr>\n<p>      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pauline Newman, Reagan\u2019s 1984 appointee, faces efforts to remove her via a Supreme Court case on judicial disability rules<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2613041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Pauline-Newman.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32712,32849,33211,6994,32275],"class_list":["post-2613040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-federal-courts","tag-judicial-misconduct","tag-legal-news","tag-scotus","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Pauline-Newman.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613040","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\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2613040"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2613045,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613040\/revisions\/2613045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2613041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2613040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2613040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2613040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}