A federal appeals court took the unusual step of reassigning a case after a U.S. District Court judge from New Jersey disregarded the panel's sentencing instructions three times in a high-profile Picatinny Arsenal child abuse case.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated sentences that Senior U.S. District Judge Katharine Hayden issued to Carolyn and John Jackson, who were convicted in 2015 of abusing their three foster children.