After More Than Three Years, Judge Newman's Case Is Transferred To The Eleventh Circuit

Today the Chief Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit released this order:

On March 24, 2023, the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit identified Complaint No. FC-23-90015 against United States Circuit Judge Pauline Newman under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act of 1980, 28 U.S.C. §§ 351–364, and the Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings of the Judicial Conference of the United States. On August 19, 2026, the Chief Justice of the United States transferred Complaint No. FC-23-90015 and any pending or new complaints relating to the same subject matter to the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Council, where it was assigned Complaint No. 11-26-90237.

Let’s review the timeline.

On June 15, 2026, the Supreme Court denied cert in Newman v. Moore. And the period for reconsideration finished 25 days later on July 10. [Update: I incorrectly noted the Federal Circuit's decision was from July 2026 rather than July 2025. I removed that reference.] Then on On August 19, the Chief Justice transferred the case to the Eleventh Circuit. It is’t clear if Judge Moore asked the Chief Justice to reassign the case  or if the Chief Justice simply pulled rank and took the case away from Moore. I lean towards the latter option. If so, kudos to the Chief for taking control. Better late than never, I suppose? But why now? Perhaps the Chief Justice was waiting for all pending litigation to conclude before taking the case away from Judge Newman?

After nearly three years of Chief Judge Moore waiting for Judge Newman to die, the case might actually find a favorable forum in Atlanta. May Judge Newman return to the bench as soon as possible.

Indeed, there is a parallel between Chief Judge Moore and Judge Southwick. Both judges care very much about who sits on their court and they seek to use their own judicial power to control who sits on the court. The judicial ethics mavens apparently see nothing wrong with either of their conduct, but I do. And for what it’s worth, Judge Newman could have hand-picked her successor a long time ago, but has made the moral choice to serve until she can serve no longer.

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