Judge Newman was just suspended. I'm not sure what to to think of this. I doubt the other judges would fabricate the evidence cited in the order. On the other hand, this is anecdotal, but people who've argued cases in which she was on the panel haven't told me of any declines in recent years (this is an extrmely small sample). One told me that Newman hammered him during oral arguments. He joked that she lit up a cigarette when she was done with him.
>>>Judge Pauline Newman’s colleagues on a federal appeals court . . . told Judge Newman, 96, that she had been suspended amid growing concerns about her mental fitness.
The order suspending Judge Newman for one year followed an unusually bitter and public dispute over her cognitive state and her ability to continue to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, a specialized court that hears patent cases. . . .
More than 20 interviews with members of the court staff, along with emails sent by Judge Newman, “provided overwhelming evidence,” the order said, that she “may be experiencing significant mental problems including memory loss, lack of comprehension, confusion and an inability to perform basic tasks that she previously was able to perform with ease.”
The order said that evidence pointed to instances in which Judge Newman, when struggling with basic tasks, “became frustrated, agitated, belligerent and hostile.”
“With no rational reason — other than frustration over her own confusion — Judge Newman has threatened to have staff arrested, forcibly removed from the building and fired,” the order said. “She accused staff of trickery, deceit, acting as her adversary, stealing her computer, stealing her files and depriving her of secretarial support.”<<<
Judge Pauline Newman has denied accusations that she is unable to perform the duties of her job and has challenged an investigation into her cognitive state.
www.nytimes.com
