A 96-year-old US federal appeals court judge was barred Wednesday from hearing cases for a year after a panel said he refused to undergo a medical exam amid concerns he was no longer mentally fit to serve on the bench.
It is the latest development in an unusual and bitter fight over whether Judge Pauline Newman should continue to serve on the Washington-based US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that has sparked lawsuits and turned judges against each other.
Newman, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan who has been on the court for nearly four decades, insists that he remains physically and mentally fit to rule on legal matters, and has accused his colleagues of making baseless claims in an effort to overrule him because from his age.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is one of the 13 US appeals courts. It hears cases on issues such as government contracts, patents and trademarks. Federal judges chosen by the president and confirmed by the US Senate are appointed for life, and there is no mandatory retirement age.
The Federal Circuit Judicial Council, made up of Newman’s colleagues, said the suspension was necessary because the court’s longest-serving judge would not cooperate with an investigation into his mental fitness despite a “reasonable concern” that he “suffers from a precluding disability.” from performing his duties effectively.”
Federal Judge Pauline Newman has been prevented from hearing the case because of concerns about her mental fitness. AP
The Federal Circuit Judicial Council suspended Judge Newman after he refused to cooperate with an investigation into his health. AP
Judge Pauline Newman denied that he was mentally unwell. AP
The Judicial Council order said the suspension could be renewed after a year if he continues to be uncooperative, or could be revoked if he decides to comply. The ruling suspends him from hearing new cases, though no old ones because he has been suspended since April amid an investigation, according to his lawyer, Greg Dolin.
Dolin said they will seek review from other committees that oversee judicial conduct across the country. He said they believed the restrictions were “grossly illegal” and that the process had been seriously flawed.
“The Judicial Council is ready to accept the statement of any allegations to support what appears to be a predetermined conclusion,” he said.
“Instead, Chief Justice Moore and his appointed committee have been interested in one thing and one thing only — keeping Judge Newman off the bench through the exercise of raw power unfettered by statutory requirements, constitutional limitations, any notion of due process, conflict of interest rules, or even basic justice,” they wrote.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
