On Thursday, March 12, 2026, the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Newman v. Moore. This action represents the latest development in a dispute concerning the suspension of Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman, which has now extended for three years, marking the longest suspension of a federal judge in U.S. history.
The NCLA’s petition seeks Supreme Court review of administrative orders that have effectively kept Judge Newman off the bench. The heart of the matter revolves around the actions of the Judicial Council of the Federal Circuit, led by Chief Judge Kimberly Moore, which the NCLA argues have exceeded the council’s legal authority. According to the NCLA, Judge Newman has been improperly removed from her duties, including being barred from hiring law clerks and excluded from the distribution of proposed opinions.
The NCLA contends that these actions violate the Judicial Councils Reform and Judicial Conduct and Disability Act of 1980, which allows circuit courts to investigate and suspend judges from hearing new cases under specific conditions. The organization asserts that the Judicial Council initiated an indefinite removal of Judge Newman in March 2023, even before a formal investigation into her fitness for office had commenced.
Judge Newman, often referred to as the “Great Dissenter,” has been a prominent figure in shaping intellectual property law. The Judicial Council initially suspended her for one year in September 2023 and has since issued two additional one-year suspensions. The NCLA argues that this prolonged suspension amounts to an unconstitutional removal of an Article III judge from her office, violating the Disability Act, which permits only time-limited suspensions with a definite end date.
The NCLA further asserts that the D.C. Circuit panel previously held it lacked jurisdiction to hear the merits of the lawsuit against Judge Newman’s suspension based on a 2001 circuit precedent. The organization, along with Supreme Court litigator Jonathan Mitchell, is now asking the Supreme Court to rule that courts do have the jurisdiction to hear Judge Newman’s lawsuit, challenging the suspension orders and seeking to prevent future suspensions.
The NCLA believes the Supreme Court should hear the case to ensure that the Disability Act does not prevent courts from reviewing orders that exceed the rightful power of a chief judge or judicial council. They also argue that judges should be able to seek injunctive relief in a federal district court to prevent unlawful actions by a judicial council.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
