Federal judges are judges for life. Pauline Newman was appointed to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in 1984. The court hears patent claims and customs issues. In 2023, responding to complaints by staff that Judge Newman was being abusive, the judicial council for the Federal Circuit suspended Judge Newman, saying she had shown signs of cognitive decline.
The council placed Judge Newman on a one year suspension and started to investigate her abilities. It asked her to submit to a medical exam. She refused. Dr. Aaron Filler, an attorney who has appeared in front of Judge Newman, offered to conduct an exam of Judge Newman at no cost. Dr. Filler is also a neurosurgeon.
Dr. Filler found Judge Newman to be a “super ager.” She demonstrates a mental acuity of someone 20 years younger, said the doctor. Dr. Filler measured the blood flow to her brain and he interviewed her. Dr. Filler said her “rapid efficient responses” to difficult questions indicated a very high level of cognitive ability.” He discussed the reports of abusive behavior. He said most of those reports occurred subsequent to the initiation of the investigation and could have been due to stress.
The doctor concluded:
“She engages normally and fluidly in interaction and conversation without any apparent diminishment that might be associated with age in the 10th decade as to other individuals. In this regard she presents as a ‘super-ager’ in that she does not demonstrate effects of age on cognition or demeanor comparable to many others at this age.”
See ABA Bar Journal report here.