Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights:
- an article reporting on a special committee of the Federal Circuit recommending that Judge Newman be suspended from case assignments for another year for failing to undergo required neurological exams; and
- an article reporting on the same special committee’s opinion that Judge “Newman’s refusal to submit to medical testing by the Committee’s selected doctors as ‘serious misconduct.’”
Debra Weiss wrote an article for the ABA Journal reporting on how a special committee of the Federal Circuit recommending that Judge Newman be suspended from case assignments for another year for failing to undergo required neurological exams. Weiss summarizes the findings of the committee’s report, which recommended that Judge Newman “should be suspended from case assignments for another year for failing to participate in a probe of her mental fitness.” Weiss explains that Judge “Newman refused to undergo required neurological exams, to provide medical records and even to sit for an interview.”
Eileen McDermott wrote a similar article for IPWatchdog reporting on the same committee’s view that Judge “Newman’s refusal to submit to medical testing by the Committee’s selected doctors as ‘serious misconduct.’” McDermott explains how the committee believes Judge Newman’s conduct has “[t]hwarted the process Congress created for determining whether a life-tenured judge suffers from a disability.” The article includes a quote from Judge Newman’s counsel, who argued that the proceedings against Newman “could and should have been terminated months ago in light of clear evidence of Judge Newman’s continued ability to exercise the functions of her life-tenured office.”