Washington, D.C., April 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Relevant voices including former judges and clerks for New Civil Liberties Alliance client Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman have submitted amici curiae briefs urging the Supreme Court to hear Newman v. Moore and mandate judicial review of administrative orders that have unlawfully suspended her since 2023. Hers is now the longest suspension of a federal judge in American history. Led by Chief Judge Kimberly Moore, the Judicial Council of the Federal Circuit has gone beyond its legal authority by effectively removing Judge Newman from the bench, even stopping her from hiring law clerks and leaving her off the distribution list for proposed opinions. NCLA thanks the courageous amici for demanding court action on this historic injustice.
Excerpts of the briefs filed by amici curiae in support of granting NCLA’s Supreme Court petition follow:
“Without judicial review of her suspension, Judge Newman is in limbo. To safeguard judicial independence and to provide due process, Judge Newman is entitled to meaningful review of her constitutional claims.”
— Former Law Clerks for Judge Newman
“The BADC submits this amicus petition to also apprise this Court of widespread, but silent, support for Judge Newman’s appeal among the Federal Circuit’s practitioner community … These practitioners fear, whether justified or not, that publicly supporting Judge Newman’s effort might adversely impact their own appeals before the Appellees.”
— Bar Association of District of Columbia
“It is well known that Judge Newman has long dissented frequently, and her dissents have provided valuable contributions to the law, including laying the groundwork for reversals by this Court … [T]here has been an appearance of bias in the proceedings against Judge Newman, strongly suggesting that she has indeed been deprived of an impartial tribunal, and thus raising serious due process concerns.”
— Professor Andrew C. Michaels
“Each of the amici has a strong interest in ensuring that all federal judges are at liberty to exercise their functions with complete independence and are afforded a judicial forum within which to raise constitutional claims … Respondents are seeking to remove Judge Newman from her life-tenured position without invoking the impeachment process. Review is warranted to call a halt to this unconstitutional practice.”
— Hon. Janice Rogers Brown, Hon. Paul R. Michel, Hon. Kent A. Jordan, Hon. Randall R. Rader, Hon. Thomas I. Vanaskie, Hon. Paul G. Cassell, and Hon. Susan G. Braden
“Her colleagues could have recommended to the U.S. House of Representatives that Judge Newman be removed from her duties through the constitutional impeachment process, but they declined to do so. Justice Black’s fears from the last century have come back to haunt us: ‘[I]t appears that the language [the Framers] used and the protections they thought they had created are not sufficient to protect our judges from the contrived intricacies used by the judges of the [Federal Circuit] to uphold what has happened to Judge [Newman] in this case.’”
— The Buckeye Institute, Manhattan Institute, and Committee for Justice
“Judge Newman … has dissented more frequently than any other Federal Circuit judge in the Circuit’s 44 year history. Her dissents have been critically valuable to development of the law … [The Supreme] Court ultimately sided with the position taken by Judge Newman in dissent in 13 of 16 Federal Circuit cases reaching this Court on certiorari … Amicus requests that this Court grant certiorari to review the Federal Circuit Judicial Council’s failure, despite the appearance of impropriety, to transfer this case to another circuit.”
— Patrick J. Coyne
NCLA released the following statements:
“These amici underscore the high stakes this case presents for judicial independence.”
— Andrew Morris, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA
“These amici demonstrate the widespread understanding of both bench and bar that what has been done to Judge Newman threatens the entire judiciary.”
— John Vecchione, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA
“The Supreme Court justices cannot help but notice when two prior Chief Judges of the Federal Circuit take issue with current Chief Judge Moore’s antics in this sorry affair. The Federal Circuit’s behavior has been atrocious, and thankfully both (retired) bench and bar are calling on the Supreme Court to right this wrong.”
— Mark Chenoweth, President and Chief Legal Officer, NCLA
For more information visit the case page here.
ABOUT NCLA
NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLA’s public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans’ fundamental rights.
Joe Martyak New Civil Liberties Alliance 703-403-1111 joe.martyak@ncla.legal