US appeals judge, colleagues fail to resolve dispute over misconduct probe

Aug 18 (Reuters) - An effort to resolve U.S. appeals court judge Pauline Newman’s lawsuit against her judicial colleagues on the Federal Circuit through mediation has failed, according to a court filing published on Friday.

Newman, 96, sued her colleagues in May seeking to halt an investigation into her competency as a judge and her refusal to cooperate with the probe. She asked a Washington, D.C., federal judge in June to end a suspension imposed by her colleagues who questioned her mental fitness and said she struggled to promptly resolve cases.

U.S. District Judge Christopher “Casey” Cooper, who is presiding over the case, directed both parties to engage in mediation last month, appearing reluctant to rule on a highly unusual challenge to a judicial misconduct probe. He appointed Thomas Griffith, a retired judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, to oversee the mediation.

Lawyers for both parties said in Friday’s filing that the effort was “unsuccessful” and asked Cooper to set a schedule to resolve Newman’s request for a preliminary injunction ending her suspension.

A spokesperson for the Federal Circuit did not immediately return a request for comment. A lawyer for Newman declined to comment.

A three-judge Federal Circuit panel determined last month that Newman had committed misconduct by not cooperating with their probe and recommended suspending her for an additional year. The Federal Circuit’s judicial council is expected to rule on the recommendation as soon as next month.

Newman has she said she is fit to serve. She has said she would consider engaging with investigators only if the investigation is transferred to another appeals court.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.