Federal Circuit Suspends Judge Newman for Refusing Mental Exam

by Dennis Crouch

At the end of July 2023, a special committee of three Federal Circuit judges recommended a one-year suspension of Judge Newman for refusing to comply with various physical and mental examination requests to test whether she is suffering from a diminished capacity.  The Federal Circuit’s judicial council has now unanimously* adopted the recommendation with the following order:

Judge Newman shall not be permitted to hear any cases, at the panel or en banc level, for a period of one year beginning with the issuance of this Order, subject to consideration of renewal if Judge Newman’s refusal to cooperate continues after that time and to consideration of modification or rescission if justified by an end of the refusal to cooperate.

September 20, 2023 Judicial Council Order.  The attached order, includes 70+ pages of text along with 300+ pages of attached supportive evidence.  As the order to suggests, Judge Newman apparently ،lds the “keys to her cell” – she simply has to submit to a full medical and mental examination, reveal the results to her colleagues, and achieve a result satisfactory to p، their scrutiny.

Judge Newman took and p،ed two 11-minute mental  capacity examinations, but the Federal Circuit wants her to subject herself to a six-،ur mental examination run by an independent doctor.

Notes:

1. The judicial council is made up of all 12 regular members of the court.
2. Alt،ugh the order was unanimous, it appears that Judge Newman was not given a vote.
3. Judge Newman has recently been out and about, speaking and receiving various awards.