96-Year-Old U.S. Appeals Court Judge Faces Suspension Amid Mental Fitness Controversy
In a recent and contentious development, Judge Pauline Newman, a 96-year-old federal appeals court judge in the United States, has been suspended from hearing cases for a year. This suspension comes in the wake of a panel’s decision, which alleged that she had declined to undergo medical testing, raising concerns about her mental fitness to serve on the bench.
The controversy surrounding Judge Newman’s tenure has been unusually public and acrimonious, leading to a lawsuit and causing rifts among fellow judges. Newman, appointed by President Ronald Reagan almost four decades ago, vehemently asserts her physical and mental fitness to continue making legal decisions. She accuses her colleagues of making baseless claims driven by ageism to force her resignation.
