Three U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit judges argued against Judge Pauline Newman's claims against her colleagues' investigation into the 96-year-old judge's fitness to continue serving on the bench. After a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia kept some of Newman's constitutional claims alive (see 2402120057), Judges Kimberly Moore, Sharon Prost and Richard Taranto argued that Newman's Fourth Amendment and due process claims both fell flat (Hon. Pauline Newman v. Hon. Kimberly Moore, D.D.C. # 23-01334).
The Court of International Trade on March 1 said "all attorneys eligible for renewal registration" must submit a renewal form and that non-federal government attorneys must pay a $75 registration fee by June 1. Lawyers admitted in 2023 and 2024 are exempt from the renewal requirements, the court said. Failure to renew will lead to the "removal of the attorney from the court's bar roll, without prejudice to an application for admission as a new member." Registration fees may be waived.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit last week issued guidance on "allowable and unallowble counsel scheduling conflicts" with oral argument sessions, clarifying that the list is non-exhaustive. The guidance said the three key requirements needed for a showing of "good cause" in rescheduling oral arguments are "certainty," in that the "conflict is already scheduled"; "specificity"; and "strong basis," which means the conflict must be for a "strong reason" and can't be easily "resolved or rescheduled."
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 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.