‘Ranting, rambling, and paranoid’: Federal appeals court suspends 96-year-old judge until she passes mental exam

Judge Newman has threatened to have staff arrested, forcibly removed from the building, and fired. She accused staff of trickery, deceit, acting as her adversary, stealing her computer, stealing her files, and depriving her of secretarial support. Staff have described Judge Newman in their interactions with her as “aggressive, angry, combative, and intimidating”; “bizarre and unnecessarily hostile”; making “personal accusations”; “agitated, belligerent, and demonstratively angry”; and “ranting, rambling, and paranoid.” Indeed, interactions with Judge Newman have become so dysfunctional that the Clerk of the Court has advised staff to avoid interacting with her in person or, when they must, to bring a co-worker with them.

Scribbd,

Sounds like a case of Alzheimer’s…

JustZ,

I don’t get the outrage.

This is law. It takes ten years of practice just to really scratch the surface in one small area of law. Arbitrary compulsive retirements (such freedom) serve only to cause brain and experience drain that cannot be easily made up.

Add to that, most people retire when they should all on their own. Maybe sometimes they need a little push from colleagues. Very rarely does it rise to the level of publis inquest and a forced competency exam.

This time it seems it did, and look! It’s happening. What’s the real problem? Why is throwing the baby out with the bath water seen as a legit solution?

I prefer government officials, and especially judges and senators, to have real experience. Most elders are not senile old coots, especially not those who spent their lifetime in a career that by nature is as daily taxing on memory and recall as is the law. Some say the law is a study and a practice in memory. The best trial lawyers usually have the best memory. Add to that the extensive amount of reading and writing trial attorneys and judges do. It’s not like this judge has been clocking out from a show-up job every day at 5 pm and then doom scrolling or binging Netflix.

I would say of the judges I’ve been before including some elderly federal judges in a senior or retired judge, or magistrate sort of role, have been some of the most knowledgeable, most efficient judges I’ve argued to, especially at the appellate level, where all they do (in theory) is jurisprudence, logical and policy reasoning, and interpretation, the most mentally demanding sort of law practice.

TheFonz,

I don’t necessarily fully agree but I saw you were getting downvotes. Have an upvote.

nucleative,

Well reasoned contribution, thank you

archiotterpup,

That’s great and all in theory but this one clearly has issues and can’t do her job.

Nurse_Robot,

She’s 96 and has paranoid persecutory delusions. Supporting her role as a judge is a bizarre take on your part

slipperydippery,

How is he supporting her role as judge?

Nurse_Robot,

Did you not read his comment?

slipperydippery,

He literally says:

Very rarely does it rise to the level of publis inquest and a forced competency exam.

This time it seems it did, and look! It’s happening. What’s the real problem? Why is throwing the baby out with the bath water seen as a legit solution?

He states that it went wrong this time and that the system in place is correcting the problem. How is that in support of the judge?

Nurse_Robot,

The rest of his comment is in support of no age limit for judges. He states in no uncertain terms that the older the judge, the better. His thinking is the cause for a slew of arguably poor decisions made from out of touch geriatric people who overwhelmingly rule over this country.

I’m in support of age limits for people who can directly and insurmountably affect my life. He is not. Therein lies the rub.

slipperydippery,

I’m not sure if you’re being purposely obtuse, nowhere did he say “the older the judge, they better”.

Nurse_Robot,

I prefer government officials, and especially judges and senators, to have real experience. Most elders are not senile old coots, especially not those who spent their lifetime in a career that by nature is as daily taxing on memory and recall as is the law.

I would say of the judges I’ve been before including some elderly federal judges in a senior or retired judge…

Using context clues, I think it’s fair to say I’m not the one being obtuse with my interpretation of OPs comment. Also, there’s a typo in your quote of me.

slipperydippery,

See, you’re doing it again. Just because he is ok with some older judges, you’ve drawn the conclusion that he supports this judge - despite the fact that he clearly stated he didn’t. That’s not “contextual clues”, but just reading what you want to read.

It was autocorrect

Nurse_Robot,

I’m done arguing with you.

autumn_rain,

I hope she doesn’t drive a vehicle to work.

qyron,

Quick solution for situations like this: compulsive retirement.

65 years old? Get out of here or get thrown out.

Smoogs, (edited )

65 isn’t the same as 96

qyron,

Care to elaborate on that, please? I’m not following your reasoning.

Smoogs,

That’s Because you’re being an ageist.

qyron, (edited )

You’re going to have to elaborate on your reasoning. One sentence makes no service to explain yourself.

Nurse_Robot,

1 is not the same as 2

funkless_eck,

if you applied this unilaterally you’ll end up with a lot of homeless old people

JackbyDev,

Surely we can find a sensible middle ground between allowing senile elderly folks to hold positions of power and kicking every 65 year old out of every job lmao.

funkless_eck,

I mean yeah you’d think so but also I was just responding to the top comment

JackbyDev,

I’m pretty sure they were referring to judges specifically.

SatansMaggotyCumFart,

What about homeless former judges?

Have you considered them?

qyron,

Why?

In my very backwards and barbaric country every person, regardless of their profession, receives a state paid pension and we have a notion of social safety net. There are homeless here, like everywhere else in the world, but elderly citizens can retire knowing they will be taken care of.

On the particular case of judges, and on this I have the luck to have been explained how things work, upon reaching 65, a judge is retired and recognized by their service, with a very generous pension, as the career is considered as being of high strain.

No one should be forced nor allowed to work until their dying breath and this is a prime example for it.

funkless_eck,

deleted_by_author

    •
    qyron, (edited )

    The US are a shithole that stays afloat because the population is kept tame via populist discourse and seeded in-fighting.

    And after reading your comment, I find myself wondering how so many people, from my country included, go to the UK to work. Sounds a bit like US but a notch down.

    We all make our choices but you could have chosen other countries, with better social networks.

    I have been making contributions towards my national pension fund since I started working and enjoy a free access NHS. When I eventually reach the age of retirement, which now is around 67 years of age, I’ll be granted a pension based on my contributive career.

    I’ll still be able to keep working if I choose to but most people don’t and others are barred from it, like judges, surgeons, police officers and even politians, as they are seen unfit to hold crucial positions.

    And this applies to all emigrants that move here, with some added conditions, obviously, but still are eligible for these social benefits.

    And regardless all of this, you can and should save (products with special tax exemptions exist for that exact purpose) if you expect to maintain a specific standard of living.

    Vodik_VDK,

    Disagree-ish.

    I would suggest that, instead, after a certain age or catastrophic loss (such as that of a lifetime partner) we should all be receiving regular competency / cognizants evaluations. I think that compulsive retirement would be dehumanizing, a potential trigger for senility, dementia, or suicide, and a negligent misappropriation of the experience and institutional knowledge, that many of our seniors hold.

    qyron, (edited )

    Most modern countries contemplate the notion that at some point in your life you are deemed unfit of occupying an active position, regardless whatever experience an individual may have in whatever field.

    What that does not imply is the individual being rendered useless. Highly experienced individuals can act as teachers, mentors and advisers, sharing experience but with no weight for actual decision making or action taking.

    I myself don’t intend to reach retirement age and turn off all switches and just stay home and vegetate; I think I can make myself useful up until my body becomes too frail and my mind breaks. But there is a point where I don’t want to have any responsabilities towards an institution.

    archiotterpup,

    75 seems more reasonable

    UsernameIsTooLon,

    Why do these old people constantly feel the need to work? I’m trying to retire the moment I can and enjoy the rest of my life.

    KiloGex,

    Power. The moment they retire they give up the ability to control people’s lives.

    stevedidwhat_infosec,

    DING DING DING

    WE HAVE A WINNER FOLKS

    pleasemakesense,

    probably because they really dont work as hard as you

    UsernameIsTooLon,

    Nah I barely work hard. I’m not equating my life to work. There’s too many other things to enjoy for that.

    PoliticalAgitator,

    You ever heard the phrase “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”?

    Well some people love being abusive pieces of shit.

    theangryseal,

    Probably not as much as I love this comment though.

    Smoogs,

    Then create a culture that isn’t reliant on working to make money just for basic necessities.

    It should be possible considering we have some money hoarders hoarding enough that we shouldn’t have people going hungry and enough houses that people shouldn’t be homeless.

    Yet we do.

    Tax the rich.

    Vodik_VDK,

    Part of it is because you still need a gig to keep the retirement funds rolling. You don’t want to live it out on pea soup and bread.

    Part of it is because after a certain point every bit of your body, from your bones to your brains, is only available on a Use It or Lose It basis with no warranty for service blackouts.

    And part of it is because, and l guess this is due to the collapse of the extended-family model, lots of people don’t have anyone or thing to go home to; they’re divorced or widowed, kids have moved out, and their social network has literally died out.

    Towards the end of his life my father only had ONE surviving peer from grade school. Imagine how it is to call your only surviving friend on a regular basis and to wonder, each time, if today’s the day you learn you’ve already heard their voice for the last time.

    SouthEndSunset,

    Is none of it wanting to keep their boomer views relevant?

    Smoogs,

    Yup. A lot of people here don’t get that when you retire the funds are finite. And you could still live another 20 yrs, even up to 35 more years but completely alone and with no income. If you have someone telling you to quit as you round up to 65 when you have another good 20 yrs of cognizance to pull income, you won’t go quietly.

    And you shouldn’t.

    Retirement right now is still expecting you’re going to pay your way or live worse than prison conditions. Even worse if you’re a person with disabilities or early onset issues, diabetes along with other things from a lifestyle habit of consumerism pushed on all of us by capitalists that don’t give a shit what happens to you down the line.

    it’s not to say someone shouldn’t retire eventually when they can no longer work. It’s to say that assuming you’re as incompetent at 60 as if you’re 96 is just plain refusal to recognize the human condition and it’s ageism. The article is about a 96 yr old. That’s past 30 yrs retirement age. It’s only in her recent years this is happening so the fact she made it to 90 cognizant is actually very impressive either way. So just saying yeah, she should retire now. But blaming her for not retiring at 65 when she’s 30+ past that age is a misnomer argument at this stage. If anything we should all be so lucky to make it past 70 with our cognitive abilities with the current American diet slowly killing our organ function.

    OldQWERTYbastard,

    Technology is allowing us to live “longer,” but not necessarily “better.”

    We shouldn’t be ruled by geriatrics. Age limits need to be a thing.

    RagingRobot,

    Obsolete

    Gorgritch_umie_killa,

    Age limits could be tricky and unnecessarily easy to use in a divisive political campaign though. But contract term limits should be introduced into lots of positions. It not only gives the employers an easy and expected out, but it also gives a natural contract renegotiation point for workers with smaller bargaining power.

    Omega_Haxors,

    People don’t realize that Judge Judy isn’t even a caricature. It is shockingly easy to just up and up become a judge.

    hrimfaxi_work,
    @hrimfaxi_work@midwest.social avatar

    I work in higher education, coordinating advanced degree programs. This situation makes me think of half a dozen research faculty I know personally that behave the exact same way.

    I’m not of the opinion that people of advanced age are automatically less competent, but it’s a fact that age-related cognitive decline is a thing. People persisting in important decision-making positions after such decline cause immense and compounding problems.

    It’ll never happen, but I’d love for us to collectively decide that a particular age range is the end of a person’s professional life and the beginning of something new and exciting and also dignified. I’m aware of the cultural reasons that it can’t happen in this particular time and place, but it would improve things a lot if it could.

    vivadanang,

    there used to be tenure with sanity; it was rare for faculty to stay on after their abilities started to wane. Then came the boomers.

    uis,
    @uis@lemmy.world avatar

    You don’t need to be 96 years old to become a Putin and invade a Ukraine

    Anonymousllama,

    Imagine you go to court and this fossil at 96 is the one who determines your fate. Imagine if you catch her on an off day and she thinks you stole her computer, her files or other nonsense she’s accused court staff of doing (the only thing that’s been stolen is her marbles, and it looks like they went a few years back)

    Get these shocking people out of the courts and into the nursing home where they belong

    GenXcisguy,

    Is the occupation of judge so badly compensated, that you can’t retire? What the fuck is wrong with this lady?

    militaryintelligence,

    I’m sure there are financial benefits being a federal judge

    eestileib,

    Let’s ask … Clarence Thomas, shall we?

    I think for her it’s the ego trip not the money. Same thing Bader-Ginsburg did which gave us Kavanagh.

    themajesticdodo,

    She’s in severe mental decline? I thought the article made that pretty clear.

    Anonymousllama,

    I assume she’s got nothing else in her life, actually quite sad

    Sir_Kevin,
    @Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

    What’s wrong with the system?

    Sami_Uso,

    I’m all for term limits and an end to lifetime appointments, but maybe it’s time we start pulling back on the idea that people are useless and incompetent the moment they turn 65. I don’t really think putting an expiration date on human beings is a good thing.

    themajesticdodo,

    What does your comment have to do with the article? She’s 94 and is pretty obviously in mental decline…

    Sami_Uso,

    It has nothing to do with the article, just the general vibe of every comment section talking about old people turns into a circle jerk about when people are no longer valuable to society.

    deanimate,

    Please read article next time

    smegger,

    I’m a fan of the concept of performance based appointments. When they fail to perform they risk losing their position.

    That way, no complaints of ageism or whatever

    Chocrates,

    Yeah but what does adequate “performance” for a judge mean? Can we quantify it?

    Who is in charge of enforcing it?

    dirthawker0,

    Some people die young, some people die old. Some people get Alzheimer’s in their 30s or 40s, others remain sharp up till death at 95. I could see a specific age as a guideline but to say “you’re 70, off you go to pasture” is just as wrong as keeping on someone clearly incompetent.

    Chocrates,

    I don’t know that anybody is realistically saying that, I’m sure some assholes do and I often group all the “olds” together when I am frustrated. There are many things at play here:

    • government appointments for life (or until retirement) mean that powerful government positions are basically unavailable for younger generations
    • American work ethic tells you it is good to work until you die and not "freeload"
    • Some people that get power like it and will not willingly relinquish it
    • we have not aptitude tests for really anything beyond what it takes to get hired

    I don’t know what the right and fair solution is, but it feels like government appointments should have a time limit. What that is I don’t know what is reasonable

    Poppa_Mo, (edited )

    Should just make the retirement age for these people 65. Everyone. Senators. Presidents. Want to get a job in an advisory role after that? Cool, at least then we have a filter for the madness and your dementia can’t fuck anyone over directly.

    BarterClub,

    Term limits

    Moyer1666,

    There needs to be an age limit for these positions. Sounds like she should have retired 25 years ago.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • random
  • uselessserver093
  • Food
  • [email protected]
  • aaaaaaacccccccce
  • test
  • CafeMeta
  • testmag
  • MUD
  • RhythmGameZone
  • RSS
  • dabs
  • oklahoma
  • Socialism
  • KbinCafe
  • TheResearchGuardian
  • SuperSentai
  • feritale
  • KamenRider
  • All magazines
    •