by Dennis Crouch

Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) introduced H.R. 10026 on August 3, 2026, a bill that would designate Courtroom 201 of the Howard T. Markey National Courts Building at 717 Madison Place NW as the "Pauline Newman Courtroom." Room 201 is the Federal Circuit's main courtroom, where the court hears its argued cases and sits en banc. The bill, titled the Honoring Circuit Judge Pauline Newman Act of 2026, lists a set of findings and the only operative part designated the courtroom name.

Judge Newman has not sat in Room 201 since March 2023. Most recently, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Newman v. Moore, No. 25-1101 (U.S. June 15, 2026), ending her three-year effort to get some Article III court to reach the merits of her constitutional challenge. Congress wrote the statute that allowed for her suspension, this bill though is only about a nameplate.