US 96-Year-Old Oldest Judge Faces Suspension with Call to "Step Down Now"

US Judiciary Committee Orders One-Year Suspension of Operations

As 80-year-old President Joe Biden and 77-year-old former President Donald Trump challenge each other in the presidential election, raising concerns about the 'aging' of politicians in the United States, a 96-year-old sitting judge has been ordered to suspend duties.

According to the Washington Post (WP) and others on the 21st (local time), the U.S. Judicial Council issued a one-year suspension order to Pauline Newman, a 96-year-old judge of the Washington DC Court of Appeals, as reported by Yonhap News Agency.

The council stated, "We have an obligation to take action when a judge is deemed no longer capable of performing duties," adding, "If Judge Newman refuses to comply with investigations including medical examinations, the suspension period may be further extended."

Pauline Newman, aged 96 this year, is the oldest sitting judge in the United States. Federal judges in the U.S. hold lifetime appointments, guaranteed until death, impeachment, or voluntary resignation.

In the past, it was common to encourage elderly judges to retire through their families, and if they accepted, it was generally accepted. However, Judge Newman recently rejected proposals for retirement or stepping down to a secondary position despite significant declines in her work ability.

Accordingly, the court formed a committee to verify her work capacity and requested neurological tests and interviews, but Judge Newman also refused these.

WP reported colleagues’ assessments that Judge Newman's work ability has declined compared to the past. One colleague said, "Newman claimed to have spoken with a judge who died in 2006." There were also suspicions that her computer skills had deteriorated, such as blaming "hackers" when unable to find files on the computer.

There were testimonies that she could not remember conversations about cases handled just a few days prior and that her work speed was slow enough to spend over 600 days on cases that other judges would finish within a month.

On the other hand, Newman’s side argued, "There is no hindrance to case handling, and she works as productively as any other colleague." She emphasized, "If I were truly physically and mentally debilitated as my colleagues say, I could step down. But as things stand, I can contribute sufficiently and feel that I must continue working."

Currently, Judge Newman has filed a lawsuit and is requesting the transfer of the investigation duties to another court.

According to WP, Judge Newman underwent self-initiated evaluations in psychiatry and neurology and was judged to have no mental health issues. However, the court deemed these results inappropriate because the doctors conducting the tests were chosen by Newman and the examination times were significantly short.

Meanwhile, concerns about the aging of public officials have been raised in the United States.

Mitch McConnell, the 81-year-old Republican Senate Majority Leader, recently caused concern by freezing and losing speech for over 20 seconds twice in public appearances. Diane Feinstein, a 90-year-old Democratic senator, was hospitalized and discharged repeatedly this year, suspending her legislative activities for nearly three months and facing calls for resignation.

With the ages of Joe Biden (80) and Donald Trump (77), who are expected to compete in the presidential election, also worrying voters, Republican primary candidate Nikki Haley sparked controversy by stating that mental evaluations are necessary for politicians over 75 years old.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.