Judge Fitness Probe Cites Nonexistent Heart Attack, Newman Says

The Federal Circuit chief judge’s bid to oust its oldest and longest-serving member is “riddled with errors,” including that Judge Pauline Newman suffered a heart attack that interfered with her work, the 95-year-old jurist said in a new lawsuit against her colleagues.

The complaint, filed Wednesday in a D.C. federal court, is the latest development in a controversial case that has renewed scrutiny on judicial lifetime appointments and raised open questions about the process for addressing a judge’s physical and mental fitness.

In it, Newman alleged that Chief Judge Kimberly Moore misstated details about Newman’s recent tenure with the court in an attempt to unseat her, including that the judge had “to undergo coronary stent surgery” two summers ago. The details about Newman’s health had been redacted from the public version of Federal Circuit orders related to Moore’s complaint.

“Had Judge Newman suffered a heart attack, it would be extremely unusual for anyone, let alone a 94-year-old person, to serve throughout that period without skipping a beat (so to speak),” Newman’s complaint says. “Besides which, even were the allegation true, having coronary artery disease is simply irrelevant to one’s ability to be able to carry out judicial functions.”

The complaint asks the US District Court for the District of Columbia to order that Newman be restored to her full duties as an Article III judge, including access to a full case load and staff—and to halt the investigation into her fitness. It names Moore and Judges Richard G. Taranto and Sharon Prost—who comprise the investigating panel—as well as the Federal Circuit’s Judicial Council.

Ongoing Probe

Moore launched the proceeding against Newman under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act, questioning her physical and mental ability to remain an active judge.

Newman has received a reduced workload since 2021, after she fainted following an oral argument session and experienced at least one other health-related incident, according to court orders that were unsealed last month. When Moore and other colleagues tried to coax Newman to take senior status at the court, Moore wrote, Newman “became angry” and has been unreceptive to communication attempts since.

Newman refuted Moore’s allegations that she missed important work due to her health, noting that “in the summer of 2021, Judge Newman was a member of ten different panels of the Court— more than any other colleague but two.”

Moore has demanded “neurological and neuropsychological examinations before physicians of the special committee’s choosing” in an unreasonably short time, Newman said, as well as the surrender of “medical records including for events that have never occurred.”

In addition to the issues surrounding her health, Newman claimed that Moore has left her chambers short-staffed and unable to function.

The complaint further takes issue with the way the Federal Circuit panel is handling its probe, including issuing “a gag order threatening Judge Newman and her counsel with sanctions should any of them publicize the ongoing investigation.” The district court should immediately lift the speech limitations on Newman and declare them unconstitutional, she said.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance represents Newman.

The case is Newman v. Moore, D.D.C., No. 23-cv-01334, complaint filed 5/10/23.