The Judicial Council of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Monday denied a request by Judge Pauline Newman to be assigned new cases as a committee investigates her mental competency.

The Judicial Council voted on March 8 to block the assignment of new cases to Newman, 95, the subject of a judicial misconduct complaint by Chief Judge Kimberly Moore based on Newman’s allegedly abnormally large backlog, delays in resolving cases and concerns from staffers about her mental fitness.