Chief Justice John Roberts has handed 99-year-old U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman a lifeline in her yearslong fight against a suspension imposed by her colleagues, transferring the judicial disability dispute to a federal appeals court.

Roberts moved the complaint from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit on Aug. 19, according to an order made public Tuesday by its Chief Judge William Pryor. The chief judge of the appeals court disclosed the transfer on Tuesday at Newman’s request, according to a published order.