Courts

Huge Development In Pauline Newman's Case: The Test Results Are In!

Gonna have to side with the doctor on this one.

By  
on
Pauline Newman, a 95-year-old judge on the U.S. Court Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in her office on May 03 in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“Unusual” is a concerning adjective to read in the results of most medical assessments, especially ones evaluating mental fortitude. That is until you remember that this is Pauline Newman we are dealing with. Despite the series of initial cooperation, long format interviews, and the damned Supreme Court affirming yet another of her dissents, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has been successful in strong-arming her out of her constitutionally protected position as a judge. The court issued a year-long suspension and threatened to renew it so long as Newman refuses to undergo a mental assessment. She finally did — and the results show that she is
“[an] unusually cognitively intact 9[7]-year-old woman.” NCLA has more information on the results:

Dr. Aaron G. Filler, MD, PhD, JD confirms Judge Newman is fully fit to perform the duties of the office to which she has been confirmed by the Senate and appointed by the President.

…

After reviewing Judge Newman’s entire medical file dating back to 2021, including all information compiled by the Special Committee, Dr. Filler concluded: “There is no evidence of any mild cognitive impairment, dementia or other mental deterioration. Instead, Judge Newman’s rapid efficient responses to the difficult questions posed demonstrate an extraordinarily high level of cognitive ability.” Further, “there is no medical, neurological, or cognitive basis for requiring additional testing; or, for doubt about Judge Newman’s ability ‘to discharge the duties of her office.’”

There is a growing tendency for judges to think that they are better poised to make health evaluations than the specialists who actually managed to pass Orgo (looking at you in particular, Gorsuch). How will the court respond to this egg on their face? Will they try to discredit the doctor’s credentials? Kind of hard to knock a world-renowned neurosurgeon’s findings. Will they allow Newman to resume her spot on the bench after jumping through their hoops with flying colors? Or will they treat this like last time and misread the doctor’s findings and ignore when they clap back?

Pauline Newman has a long history of dissenting from her colleagues’ legal conclusions. She is in good company — all of the doctors who have sat with the facts of the case dissent from the court’s assessment too.

“Judge Newman Fit to Judge,” Reports Harvard-Trained Neurosurgeon Expert [NCLA]

Earlier: Pauline Newman Speaks: ATL Interviews The Judge Who’s Fighting To Do Her Job
Despite Her Cooperation, Panel Decides To Suspend Pauline Newman For A Year
Pauline Newman’s Doctor Has Some Choice Words For The Judicial Panel That Ruled Against Her
A Lifetime-Appointed Judge Was Accused Of Not Being Able To Do Her Job. She Brought Receipts.

Sponsored

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

Sponsored

Topics

, , , , ,