The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Feb. 12 dismissed a host of claims from U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman against three of her colleagues for their investigation on Newman's fitness to continue serving on the court. Judge Christopher Cooper also rejected Newman's bid for an injunction against the CAFC Judicial Council's one-year ban on Newman hearing new cases at the court (see 2309200024) (Hon. Pauline Newman v. Hon. Kimbelry Moore, D.D.C. # 23-01334).
The U.S. Judicial Conference's Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability in a Feb. 7 decision denied U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's request for a review of the appellate court's decision to suspend her from hearing cases for a year, sustaining the sanction.
Scheduled maintenance on the Court of International Trade's CM/ECF system will make it unavailable to users Feb. 17, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST, the court announced.
Two nominees intended to fill judicial vacancies at the Court of International Trade will again be considered by the Senate after the chamber failed to approve them within the 2023 calendar year (see 2312220013).
President Joe Biden renewed the nominations of Joseph Laroski and Lisa Wang to the Court of International Trade after the original nominations were returned to the president due to inaction in the full Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee in September approved the nominations of Wang, assistant secretary of commerce for enforcement and compliance, and Laroski, partner at Schagrin Associates, with votes of 12-9 and 18-3, respectively (see 2309140054). When forwarded for Senate confirmation, no action was taken in 2023.
A U.S. appeals court this month upheld the conviction and 57-month prison sentence of Florida business owner Peter Sotis for conspiring to and illegally attempting to ship export-controlled rebreather diving equipment to Libya.
The nominations to fill two judicial vacancies at the Court of International Trade were returned to President Joe Biden after the full Senate chamber didn't move to approve the two nominees within the calendar year. The nominations, Lisa Wang, assistant secretary of commerce for enforcement and compliance, and Joseph Laroski, partner at Schagrin Associates, were approved by the Judiciary Committee in September with votes of 12-9 and 18-3, respectively (see 2309140054). Wang faced greater scrutiny from Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, being subjected to questions about comments she made as an undergraduate student regarding "liberal hypocrisy," a term used by a Republican senator in characterizing a specifc comment he questioned (see 2307270043). Wang's and Laroski's nominations sat untouched following their approval from the Judiciary Committee. Biden will have the opportunity to renew their nominations in the new year.
The Court of International Trade has made changes to its fee schedule that will take effect Jan. 22, the court announced. The court's attorney admission fee (the original admission of an attorney to practice) will now be $199, up from $88, while applications to appear pro hac vice, which previously were free, will now cost $75. Renewal of admission registrations will be due every five years, along with a $75 fee, up from $50. Duplicate certificates of admission or certificates of good standing will cost $45, up from $20. Additionally, U.S. government attorneys requesting a certificate of their admission to the trade bar will now pay $45 for the certificate to be printed, instead of $88. Because they can't be charged a fee for admission to practice before CIT, the certificates aren't automatically generated. The fee changes were approved Dec. 12.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman argued against her colleagues' argument that Newman's case against their investigation into her fitness to continue serving on the bench was mooted. Filing a sur-reply at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the 96-year-old Newman said that her colleagues' voluntary cessation of an order indefinitely suspending the judge from hearing cases is "insufficient to moot the challenge," adding that the "complained-of conduct fits into the 'capable of repetition, yet evading review' exception to mootness" (The Hon. Pauline Newman v. The Hon. Kimberly Moore, D.D.C. # 23-01334).
Amendments to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's rules took effect Dec. 1. The court amended Forms 6a and 24, adding that the amended forms will be required for any filings made on or after Dec. 1, a court notice said. Form 24 "satisfies the Bill of Costs form requirementsa" under Federal Circuit Rule 39(b), while Form 6A "satisfies the requirement for incarcerated movants to file a supplemental form for prisoners," under CAFC Rule 24(b).