The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations , S.D.N.Y. ) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of the State of New York . Two of these are in New York City : New York (Manhattan) and Bronx ; six are in the Hudson Valley : Westchester , Putnam , Rockland , Orange , Dutchess , and Sullivan . Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act , which are appealed to the Federal Circuit ).
Because it covers Manhattan , the Southern District of New York has long been one of the most active and influential federal trial courts in the United States. It often has jurisdiction over America's largest financial institutions and prosecution of white-collar crime and other federal crimes.[ 1] Because of its age, being the oldest federal court in the history of the United States,[ 2] [ 3] great influence, described as "the preeminent trial court in the nation",[ 4] and its strong independence,[ 5] it is colloquially called the "Mother Court",[ 6] or the "Sovereign District of New York."[ 7]
The district itself has had several prominent judges on its bench, including Learned Hand , Michael Mukasey , and Sonia Sotomayor , and many of the U.S. attorneys for the district have been prominent American legal and political figures, such as Elihu Root , Henry L. Stimson , Robert Morgenthau , Rudy Giuliani , James Comey , Michael J. Garcia , and Preet Bharara .[ 8]
Jurisdiction
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York encompasses the counties of New York, Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan and draws jurors from those counties. The Court also shares jurisdiction over the waters of the counties of Kings, Nassau, Queens, Richmond, and Suffolk with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York .[ 9] The Court hears cases in Manhattan, White Plains, and Poughkeepsie, New York.[ 10]
The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the Court. As of October 10, 2021[update] the United States Attorney is Damian Williams .[ 11]
The court sits in the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse and Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse , both in Manhattan , and in the Charles L. Brieant Jr. Federal Building and Courthouse in White Plains .
History
The United States District Court for the District of New York was one of the original 13 courts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789 , 1 Stat. 73, on September 24, 1789. It first sat at the old Merchants Exchange on Broad Street in November 1789, the first federal court to do so.[ 12] [ 13] [ 14] The Act of April 9, 1814, 3 Stat. 120, divided the District of New York into Northern and Southern Districts.[ 13] [ 14]
The subdivision of the district was reportedly instigated by Matthias B. Tallmadge , out of antipathy for fellow district judge William P. Van Ness . These Districts were later further subdivided with the creation of the Eastern District on February 25, 1865 by 13 Stat. 438,[ 14] and the Western District on May 12, 1900, by 31 Stat. 175.[ 14] Public Law 95-408 (enacted October 2, 1978) transferred Columbia, Greene, and Ulster counties from the Southern to the Northern district.[ 15]
For the first hundred years of its existence, the case load of the district was dominated first by admiralty cases, and then by a mix of admiralty and bankruptcy cases. The primary responsibility for hearing bankruptcy cases has since been transferred to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York , with the District Court only reviewing cases already decided by a bankruptcy judge.
Since its creation, the Southern District of New York has had over 150 judges, more than any other District. Twenty-one judges from the Southern District of New York have been elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit —Samuel Blatchford , Charles Merrill Hough , Learned Hand , Julius Marshuetz Mayer , Augustus Noble Hand , Martin Thomas Manton , Robert P. Patterson , Harold Medina , Irving Kaufman , Wilfred Feinberg , Walter R. Mansfield , Murray Gurfein , Lawrence W. Pierce , Pierre N. Leval , John M. Walker Jr. , Sonia Sotomayor , Denny Chin , Barrington Daniels Parker Jr. , Gerard E. Lynch , Richard J. Sullivan , and Alison Nathan . Blatchford and Sotomayor, after being elevated from the Southern District of New York to serve as Circuit Judges for the Second Circuit, were later elevated to the Supreme Court of the United States . The longest serving judge, David Norton Edelstein , served as an active judge for 43 years to the day, and in senior status for an additional six years.
Judges of the court have gone on to other high governmental positions. Robert P. Patterson served as Under Secretary of War under President Franklin Roosevelt and was Secretary of War under President Harry S. Truman . Louis Freeh served as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from September 1993 to June 2001. Michael Mukasey served as the 81st United States Attorney General under President George W. Bush .
Notable cases
The injury and loss of life claims from the sinking of the Titanic ,[ 16] the torpedo attack on the Lusitania [ 17] and the fire aboard the General Slocum [ 18] were heard in the S.D.N.Y.
Criminal cases against rapper and record producer Sean Combs ,[ 19] and Ghislaine Maxwell , a sex trafficker and confidant of Jeffrey Epstein .[ 20]
The espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg [ 21] and the perjury trial of Alger Hiss [ 22] were heard in the S.D.N.Y.
Judge John M. Woolsey of the S.D.N.Y. rejected government efforts to censor on obscenity grounds the distribution of James Joyce 's Ulysses .[ 23]
Judge Murray Gurfein of the Court rejected government efforts to enjoin The New York Times from publishing the Pentagon Papers .[ 24]
Defamation suits were heard in the S.D.N.Y. against CBS and Time magazine by General William Westmoreland and Israeli General Ariel Sharon .
Two former Attorneys General of the United States were indicted and tried in the S.D.N.Y. for crimes while in office – Harry Daugherty of the Teapot Dome era and John Mitchell of the Watergate era. Juries were unable to reach verdicts in the two trials against Daugherty; John Mitchell was acquitted.
Financial frauds have been prosecuted in the S.D.N.Y., among them the cases against Bernard Madoff , Ivan Boesky , Michael Milken , and Sam Bankman-Fried .
The trial of Imelda Marcos , who was the former First Lady of the Philippines , and who was indicted on charges of fraud , racketeering , conspiracy, and obstruction of justice .[ 25]
Bombings: the trials of those accused of the 1998 United States embassy bombings in East Africa; those alleged to have been responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing ; Omar Abdel Rahman (known in the press as "The Blind Sheikh"); and those who conspired to carry out the Bojinka plot occurred in the District.[ 26] More recently, the prosecution arising out of the 2010 Times Square car bombing attempt were each heard in the S.D.N.Y.
Bridgeman v. Corel (1999) established that exact reproductions of public domain paintings were not subject to copyright protection.
Viacom Inc. v. YouTube Inc. , a $1 billion lawsuit against Google and YouTube on the grounds of alleged copyright infringement . The DMCA safe harbor law became the main argument in the case.
Prosecution of Abduwali Muse , the so-called "Somali Pirate", was heard in the Court in 2010.[ 27]
The criminal cases against Bess Myerson , Leona Helmsley and Martha Stewart were heard in the S.D.N.Y. as well.
The Deflategate controversy concerning the National Football League 's Tom Brady was heard in the S.D.N.Y.
Hosseinzadeh v. Klein , concerning the practice of fair use in online video content, was heard in the S.D.N.Y.[ 28]
On December 12, 2018, Judge William H. Pauley III sentenced Michael Cohen – who had served as personal legal counsel to U.S. president Donald Trump for more than a decade – to "three years in prison and millions in forfeitures, restitution and fines",[ 29] after pleading guilty to charges including campaign finance violations, tax evasion and committing perjury while under oath before Congress.[ 30]
In 2020, for the Ben Feibleman v. Columbia University case, a settlement was reached and a student's diploma restored.[ 31]
In July 2022, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jennifer Shah pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the S.D.N.Y. In January 2023, Shah was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison.[ 32]
The E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump trial, presided over by Lewis Kaplan , was held in April and May of 2023 in which the jury reached a unanimous decision, after deliberating for less than three hours, that Donald J. Trump was liable for sexual abuse via forcible digital penetration and defamation . Carroll was awarded a total of $5 million in damages.[ 33]
Current judges
As of November 6, 2024[update] :
Vacancies and pending nominations
On November 8, 2024, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Tali Farhadian Weinstein to a seat on the court.[ 34]
Former judges
↑ Initially appointed to the District of New York , reassigned by operation of law to the Southern District of New York on April 9, 1814.
↑ Recess appointment ; formally nominated on July 13, 1867, confirmed by the United States Senate on July 16, 1867, and received commission the same day.
↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on October 12, 1881, confirmed by the Senate on October 14, 1881, and received commission the same day.
↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 5, 1901, confirmed by the Senate on December 17, 1901, and received commission the same day.
↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1927, confirmed by the Senate on December 19, 1927, and received commission the same day.
↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on November 24, 1947, confirmed by the Senate on December 18, 1947, and received commission on December 20, 1947.
↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 13, 1949, confirmed by the Senate on January 31, 1949, and received commission on February 2, 1949.
↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1950, confirmed by the Senate on April 4, 1950, and received commission on April 7, 1950.
↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1950, confirmed by the Senate on March 8, 1950, and received commission on March 9, 1950.
↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1950, confirmed by the Senate on April 25, 1950, and received commission on April 26, 1950.
↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 5, 1950, confirmed by the Senate on April 28, 1950, and received commission on May 1, 1950.
↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 30, 1952, confirmed by the Senate on April 7, 1952, and received commission on April 8, 1952.
↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 12, 1956, confirmed by the Senate on June 26, 1956, and received commission on June 27, 1956.
↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 12, 1956, confirmed by the Senate on March 1, 1956, and received commission on March 2, 1956.
↑ 15.0 15.1 Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 15, 1962, confirmed by the Senate on March 16, 1962, and received commission on March 17, 1962.
↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 15, 1962, confirmed by the Senate on September 20, 1962, and received commission on September 28, 1962.
↑ Judge Tenney was nominated by President Kennedy but was appointed to the Court by (i.e., received his commission from) President Johnson.
Chief judges
Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.
A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.
When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status , or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.
Succession of seats
Seat 5
Seat established on September 14, 1922 by 42 Stat. 837 (temporary)
Seat made permanent on August 19, 1935 by 49 Stat. 659
Goddard
1923–1954
Dawson
1954–1964
Motley
1966–1986
Wood
1988–2009
Briccetti
2011–2023
Garnett
2024–present
Seat 6
Seat established on September 14, 1922 by 42 Stat. 837 (temporary)
Winslow
1923–1929
Seat made permanent on August 19, 1935 by 49 Stat. 659
Leibell
1936–1954
Bicks
1954–1963
Tenney
1963–1979
Sprizzo
1981–2000
Lynch
2000–2009
Engelmayer
2011–present
Seat 7
Seat established on February 26, 1929 by 45 Stat. 1317
Woolsey
1929–1943
Seat abolished on December 31, 1943 (Temporary judgeship expired)
Seat 12
Seat established on May 31, 1938 by 52 Stat. 585 (temporary)
Seat made permanent on June 8, 1940 by 54 Stat. 253
Conger
1938–1954
Herlands
1955–1969
Pierce
1971–1981
Kram
1983–1993
Koeltl
1994–present
Seat 22
Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80
Cooper
1962–1972
Duffy
1972–1998
Berman
1998–2011
Román
2013–present
Seat 26
Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294
Bauman
1971–1974
Goettel
1976–1993
Kaplan
1994–2011
Abrams
2012–present
Seat 28
Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294
Griesa
1972–2000
Swain
2000–present
Seat 29
Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089
Chin
1994–2010
Oetken
2011–present
See also
References
↑ "Southern District of New York" . United States Department of Justice. November 13, 2014.
↑ Burak, H. Paul (May 1, 1962). History of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (PDF) (Report). Federal Bar Association of New York, New Jersey & Connecticut. p. 1. Retrieved October 9, 2024 .
↑ The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York: A Retrospective (1990-2000) (Report). The New York County Lawyers’ Association. December 2002. p. 11. Retrieved October 7, 2024 .
↑ Zirin, James D. (2014). The Mother Court: Tales of Cases that Mattered in America's Greatest Trial Court . Chicago, Illinois: American Bar Association . pp. x. ISBN 978-1-62722-322-5 .
↑ Smith, Allan (March 25, 2019). " 'We know how to do this better than anybody': Southern District of NY on the job after Mueller probe ends" . NBC News . Retrieved October 10, 2024 .
↑ Zirin, James D. (2014). The Mother Court: Tales of Cases that Mattered in America's Greatest Trial Court . Chicago, Illinois: American Bar Association . pp. ix, xiii. ISBN 978-1-62722-322-5 .
↑ Weiser, Benjamin; Rashbaum, William K. (March 10, 2017). "With Preet Bharara's Dismissal, Storied Office Loses Its Top Fighter" . New York Times . In past presidential transitions, the storied office, long known to be so independent of Washington that some people referred to it as the Sovereign District of New York, has in large measure moved forward unaffected by politics.
↑ Weiser, Benjamin (January 29, 2009). "A Steppingstone for Law's Best and Brightest" . The New York Times . Retrieved July 24, 2019 .
↑ 28 U.S.C. § 112(b),(c).
↑ "Homepage | U.S District Court" .
↑ Berthelsen, Christian (October 11, 2021). "Wall Street Enforcer Becomes First Black U.S. Attorney for Manhattan" . Bloomberg.com . Retrieved October 12, 2021 .
↑ "Southern District of New York 225th Anniversary" . history.nysd.uscourts.gov . Retrieved December 14, 2018 .
↑ 13.0 13.1 Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 386.
↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 U.S. District Courts of New York, Legislative history , Federal Judicial Center .
↑ "92 STAT. 885" (PDF) .
↑ Taylor, Susan (April 15, 2022). "110 Years Later: Titanic Lawsuits Follow Tragedy | In Custodia Legis" . The Library of Congress . Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
↑ District), United States District Court (New York : Southern (1918). The "Lusitania." Opinion of Court, United States District Court, Southern District of New York . American Association for International Conciliation .
↑ "Slocum Disaster, June 15, 1904" . National Archives . August 15, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
↑ "Sean Combs Charged In Manhattan Federal Court With Sex Trafficking And Other Federal Offenses" . www.justice.gov . September 17, 2024. Retrieved October 17, 2024 .
↑ "Ghislaine Maxwell Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Conspiring With Jeffrey Epstein To Sexually Abuse Minors" . www.justice.gov . June 28, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2024 .
↑ "United States v. Rosenberg, 109 F. Supp. 108 (S.D.N.Y. 1953)" . Justia Law . Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
↑ "United States v. Hiss, 107 F. Supp. 128 (S.D.N.Y. 1952)" . Justia Law . Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
↑ Birmingham, Kevin (2013). "The Prestige of the Law: Revisiting Obscenity Law and Judge Woolsey's "Ulysses" Decision" . James Joyce Quarterly . 50 (4): 991–1009. ISSN 0021-4183 . JSTOR 24598724 .
↑ Dunlap, David W. (June 30, 2016). "1971 | Supreme Court Allows Publication of Pentagon Papers" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved April 18, 2023 .
↑ The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York: A Retrospective (1990-2000) (Report). The New York County Lawyers’ Association. December 2002. p. 11. Retrieved October 7, 2024 .
↑ "United States v. Yousef, 927 F. Supp. 673 (S.D.N.Y. 1996)" . Justia Law . Retrieved October 17, 2024 .
↑ Hurtado, Patricia (February 2, 2011). "Maersk Pirate's Lawyers Seek 27-Year Prison Term" . Bloomberg.com . Retrieved October 27, 2023 .
↑ Forrest, Katherine B. (August 23, 2017). "Matt Hosseinzadeh, Plaintiff, v. Ethan Klein and Hila Klein, Defendants" . United States District Court, S.D. New York (cv-3081). Retrieved December 12, 2017 .
↑ Hamilton, Colby. "Cohen's 'Blind Loyalty' Leads to 3-Year Prison Term" , New York Law Journal via Law.com, December 12, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
↑ "Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen jailed for 36 months" . BBC News . December 12, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2018 .
↑ "Feibleman v. Trs. of Columbia Univ. in N.Y., 19-CV-4327 (VEC) | Casetext Search + Citator" . casetext.com . Retrieved March 21, 2023 .
↑ "Reality Show Cast Member Jennifer Shah Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Running Nationwide Telemarketing Fraud Scheme" . January 6, 2023.
↑ | docket = 22-cv-10016
↑ "President Biden Names Fifty-Sixth Round of Judicial Nominees" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. November 8, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024 . Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
↑ "Future Judicial Vacancies | United States Courts" . www.uscourts.gov . Retrieved January 6, 2024 .
↑ An Act for the better organization of the courts of the United States within the State of New York . April 9, 1814 – via Wikisource .
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