The saga of Judge Pauline Newman is well known. For three years, the Federal Circuit has not assigned any new cases to Judge Newman because she refuses to obtain certain medical tests. Back in April 2023, I described this process as a stealth impeachment. A judge without any cases is no longer a judge.
I suspect the most obvious reply is that there is a difference between impeaching a judge and simply taking away their cases. After all, Judge Newman retains her fixed compensation and title. I am not so convinced. A judge's job is to decide cases. Imagine that Congress passed a statute providing that any judge who rules against President Trump will no longer be assigned any new cases, but they can keep their salary and title. Or what if Congress were to pass a statute divesting jurisdiction over every suit filed against the executive branch in Boston, and reassign those cases to the Amarillo Division of the Northern District of Texas. How would Judge Young and his colleagues respond?
Judge Newman's litigation brought by the NCLA has so far not been successful. (I am on the board of NCLA.) Now, the D.C. Circuit has denied en banc review, and the only remaining appeal is the United States Supreme Court. As I've said before, Chief Judge Kimberly Moore and her colleagues are waiting for the 98-year old Judge to die. I recently spoke to some staffers on Capitol Hill with Judge Newman, and can attest that she is 100% mentally acute. Her memory is better than people a third her age. The allegations against her are grossly unfair, yet the courts do nothing.
