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- 内容提要
- 法官宝琳·纽曼试图撤销停职处分
- 纽曼称其宪法权利遭到侵犯
华盛顿6月15日电（路透社）——美国最高法院周一拒绝受理美国最年长联邦法官、98岁的宝琳·纽曼的上诉，她要求推翻2023年因一项针对其履职能力的调查而被停职的处分。
大法官们驳回了纽曼针对下级法院裁决的上诉，下级法院此前驳回了她对自己被华盛顿特区美国联邦巡回上诉法院停职的法律质疑。纽曼曾主张，联邦巡回法院对其停职的做法侵犯了她的宪法权利，她要求恢复职务。
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纽曼是专利法领域的知名人士，1984年由共和党总统罗纳德·里根任命至联邦巡回法院。该法院负责审理全国范围内的专利上诉案件，经常在涉及大型企业的知识产权案件中作出裁决。
2023年联邦巡回法院公布的文件显示，一个由该院法官组成的小组援引工作人员报告，称纽曼存在“记忆力减退、意识混乱、偏执和好发脾气”的问题。由首席法官金伯莉·摩尔领导的该院全体在职法官理事会，在认定纽曼拒绝配合针对其履职能力的调查后，于当年晚些时候全票通过对纽曼的停职处分。
联邦巡回法院对纽曼的停职处分仍然有效。
纽曼一直坚称自己能够胜任本职工作，并就停职处分在华盛顿联邦法院起诉摩尔和法官理事会。2024年，一名法官以法院“一贯确认司法机构有权自我监管”为由驳回了纽曼的诉讼。
美国哥伦比亚特区巡回上诉法院2025年维持了这一裁决。
美国司法会议司法行为与残疾委员会——联邦司法系统管理机构的组成部分——也维持了对纽曼的停职处分。
纽曼向最高法院表示，联邦巡回法院超越了《美国宪法》赋予的权限，并反驳了哥伦比亚特区巡回法院的裁决，即联邦法律禁止法院审查其停职处分。纽曼称，此次停职侵犯了她的正当程序权利，且违反了宪法中赋予国会通过弹劾程序罢免联邦法官的条款。
“首席法官摩尔不当援引《残疾法案》，将纽曼法官永久边缘化，直到她屈服于霸凌，选择退休或转为资深法官，”纽曼在一份诉状中说道，她所指的是1980年出台的一项法律，该法律授权巡回法院法官理事会调查针对本院法官的不当行为或残疾指控。
由美国副检察长约翰·索尔代表的摩尔在向最高法院提交的诉状中回应称，纽曼的诉求毫无根据，且审查其停职处分的责任应由司法会议而非联邦法院承担。
代表纽曼的保守派法律团体“新公民自由联盟”的律师安德鲁·莫里斯表示，大法官们“没有抓住这次保护司法独立的机会”，对此他感到失望。
“我们将继续利用现有途径，为纽曼法官对抗这场隐秘的弹劾行动伸张正义，”莫里斯说道。
布莱克·布里坦在华盛顿报道；威尔·邓汉姆编辑
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布莱克·布里坦为路透社法律版报道知识产权法，包括专利、商标、版权和商业秘密。他此前曾为彭博法律和汤姆森路透实用法律撰稿，并曾担任执业律师。
US Supreme Court won’t hear bid by suspended judge, 98, to keep her job
2026-06-15T13:52:55.417Z / Reuters
U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit delivers remarks at a reception honoring her life and work at George Mason University during their annual Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation policy conference in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., October 12, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
- Summary
- Judge Pauline Newman seeks to undo suspension
- Newman says her constitutional rights were violated
WASHINGTON, June 15 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a bid by the nation’s oldest federal judge, 98-year-old Pauline Newman, to overturn her suspension from duties in 2023 during an investigation into her fitness to serve.
The justices turned away Newman’s appeal of a lower court’s decision to reject her legal challenge to her suspension from the Washington-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Newman had argued that the Federal Circuit violated her constitutional rights by suspending her and is seeking reinstatement.
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Newman, a respected figure in patent law, was appointed in 1984 by Republican President Ronald Reagan to the Federal Circuit. It handles patent appeals nationwide and frequently rules in intellectual property cases involving major companies.
A panel of Federal Circuit judges cited staff reports of Newman’s “memory loss, confusion, paranoia and angry rants” in documents released by the court in 2023. A council of all of the court’s active judges, led by Chief Judge Kimberly Moore, unanimously voted to suspend Newman later that year after finding that she refused to cooperate with an investigation into her fitness.
The Federal Circuit’s suspension of Newman remains in place.
Newman has maintained that she is fit to serve and sued Moore and the council in federal court in Washington. A judge dismissed Newman’s case in 2024 after finding that courts have “consistently affirmed the judiciary’s authority to police itself.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld that ruling in 2025.
The Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability of the Judicial Conference of the United States, part of the federal judiciary’s governing body, also has upheld Newman’s suspension.
Newman told the Supreme Court that the Federal Circuit overstepped its authority under the U.S. Constitution, and argued against the D.C. Circuit’s ruling that federal law barred court review of her suspension. Newman said the suspension violated her rights to due process and ran afoul of the constitutional provision giving Congress the power to remove federal judges through impeachment.
“Chief Judge Moore has invoked the Disability Act improperly to perpetually sideline Judge Newman until she gives in to the bullying and retires or takes senior status,” Newman said in a filing, referring to a 1980 law that empowers a circuit court’s judicial council to investigate misconduct or disability allegations against its judges.
Moore, represented by U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer, responded in a filing to the Supreme Court that Newman’s claims are without merit, and that the Judicial Conference, not a federal court, is responsible for reviewing her suspension.
Andrew Morris, an attorney at the conservative legal group New Civil Liberties Alliance that represents Newman, expressed disappointment that the justices “did not take this opportunity to protect judicial independence.”
“We will continue to pursue available avenues to vindicate Judge Newman against her stealth impeachment,” Morris said.
Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham
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Blake Brittain reports on intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets, for Reuters Legal. He has previously written for Bloomberg Law and Thomson Reuters Practical Law and practiced as an attorney.
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