Jed Rakoff

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Jed Rakoff
Image of Jed Rakoff

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (senior status)
Tenure

2010 - Present

Years in position

13

Prior offices
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Education

Bachelor's

Swarthmore College, 1964

Graduate

Oxford University, Balliol College, 1966

Law

Harvard Law, 1969

Personal
Birthplace
Philadelphia, Pa.

float:right;
border:1px solid #FFB81F;
background-color: white;
width: 250px;
font-size: .9em;
margin-bottom:0px;

} .infobox p { margin-bottom: 0; } .widget-row { display: inline-block; width: 100%; margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom: 1px; } .widget-row.heading { font-size: 1.2em; } .widget-row.value-only { text-align: center; background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.value-only.white { background-color: #f9f9f9; } .widget-row.value-only.black { background-color: #f9f9f9; color: black; } .widget-row.Democratic { background-color: #003388; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Republican { background-color: red; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Independent, .widget-row.Nonpartisan, .widget-row.Constitution { background-color: grey; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Libertarian { background-color: #f9d334; color: black; font-weight: bold; } .widget-row.Green { background-color: green; color: white; font-weight: bold; } .widget-key { width: 43%; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; vertical-align: top; font-weight: bold; } .widget-value { width: 57%; float: right; display: inline-block; padding-left: 10px; word-wrap: break-word; } .widget-img { width: 150px; display: block; margin: auto; } .clearfix { clear: both; }


Jed Saul Rakoff is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He joined the court in 1996 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton. Rakoff assumed senior status on December 31, 2010.[1]

Education

Rakoff graduated from Swarthmore College with his bachelor's degree in 1964, and later from Oxford University with his Master's of Philosophy degree in 1966. Rakoff received a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1969.[1]

Professional career

  • 1978-1980: Chief, Business and Securities Fraud Prosecutions

Judicial career

Southern District of New York

On the recommendation of U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Rakoff was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Bill Clinton on October 11, 1995, to a seat vacated by Judge David Edelstein. Rakoff was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on December 29, 1995, on a majority vote and received commission on January 4, 1996.[2]

Noteworthy cases

Judge dismisses Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit (2017)

Judge Rakoff dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, saying the suit did not contain plausible evidence. Palin filed the lawsuit against The New York Times in response to an article written by its editorial board stating there was a link between Palin and a 2011 shooting in Tucson, Arizona.

According to the judge, each item presented by Palin and her lawyers consisted "either of gross supposition or of evidence so weak that, even together, these items cannot support the high degree of particularized proof."[3]

Palin appealed Rakoff's decision, and on August 6, 2019, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Judge Rakoff's decision and sent the case back to a lower court. "This case is ultimately about the First Amendment, but the subject matter implicated in this appeal is far less dramatic: rules of procedure and pleading standards," the judges wrote.[4]

Articles:

Second Circuit overturns judge's ruling in Citigroup case (2014)

In 2011, Rakoff did not accept a settlement reached between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Citigroup, saying that the SEC failed to prove the allegations involved. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2014 ruled that Rakoff applied the wrong legal standard and remanded the case back to Rakoff to review the settlement again. The Second Circuit court said that a judge must look at a potential settlement for fairness, reasonableness, and whether the public interest would be served by the settlement as opposed to whether allegations were proven.

Articles:

New York City smoking deterrent signs (2012)
See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (94th St. Grocery v. N.Y.C. Bd. of Health, 11-91-cv)

On July 10, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit affirmed the decision of Judge Rakoff, ruling that federal regulations preempted a New York City ordinance that required cigarette distributors to post signs depicting cigarette-related adverse effects at the point of sale. The court held that the 1965 Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act preempted the local law, thus rendering the local ordinance unconstitutional. Philip Morris USA alongside two other manufacturers, two major retailers, and two trade unions challenged this city law in federal court in 2011. Rakoff stated in his opinion, "Even merchants of morbidity are entitled to the full protection of the law." The Second Circuit concurred, with the judges stating that the city could launch its own anti-smoking campaign using the images but could not require retailers to post them. The case was heard by Judges Peter Hall, Gerard Lynch, and Denny Chin, with Chin writing the opinion of the court.[5]

S & P/Moody's case (2010)
See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

On June 1, 2010, Judge Rakoff ruled that credit rating agencies like S & P and Moody's were not underwriters of securities. A group of plaintiffs sued the two credit rating agencies on claims that they used credit ratings to obtain $63 million dollars in mortgage-backed securities. Rakoff wrote in his ruling that the plaintiffs in the case had a broad view of what an underwriter does and that he found no evidence that S & P and Moody's were involved in underwriting.[6]

Rajaratnam wiretaps (2010)
See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

On February 10, 2010, Judge Rakoff ruled that Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam and his associates must turn over wiretaps that were used in the discovery of evidence for their criminal case to be used in a civil case. The Securities and Exchange Commission asked the court for Rajaratnam to turn over the wiretaps as they had filed a civil lawsuit over insider trading charges. Rakoff wrote in his ruling, "The notion that only one party to a litigation should have access to some of the most important non-privileged evidence bearing directly on the case runs counter to basic principles of civil discovery in an adversary system."[7]

Bank of America-SEC Settlement (2009)
See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Judge Rakoff presided over a lawsuit between Bank of America and the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2009. The SEC alleged that Bank of America failed to disclose to investors an agreement to pay $5 billion in bonuses when they took over Merrill Lynch.[8][9]

On September 14, 2009, Judge Rakoff rejected the settlement deal between Bank of America and the SEC. The veteran judge called the settlement deal worth $33 million "unreasonable and unfair" after the two sides first agreed to settle on charges Bank of America misled investors.[10]

The judge approved the settlement between Bank of America and the SEC on February 22, 2010. The two sides agreed to a settlement of $150 million. As part of the settlement, Bank of America also had to agree to oversight changes. Rakoff called the $150 million settlement inadequate but said it was "better than nothing."[11]

  • Click here for a copy of the settlement agreement.

SEC v. Marc S. Dreier (2009)
See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

SEC v. Marc S. Dreier, USDC, SDNY Civil Case No. 08 Civ. 10617[12]

Judge Rakoff was the presiding judge in the case of Marc S. Dreier, a former New York City attorney who pleaded guilty to committing a securities investment fraud scheme.[13]

Dreier faced a possible prison sentence of up to 145 years. On July 13, 2009, Judge Rakoff sentenced Drier to 20 years in prison and criticized federal prosecutors that asked for a 145-year sentence. "Is the government serious about asking for one hundred forty-five years? To me, for the government to ask for one hundred forty-five years is to demean the sentence Judge Denny Chin imposed on Mr. Madoff," he said.[14]

Approach to the law

Rakoff said the following in a 2017 interview published in the ABA Journal:[15]

“

We have an adversary system, and the judge’s main job is to apply the law and find the facts (or, if the jury finds the facts, to apply the facts to the law). I think, however, that judges do have a particular role to play in the broad allocation of powers of our Constitution in protecting the rights of individuals and minorities.[16]

”

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jed Saul Rakoff from the Federal Judicial Center
  2. ↑ THOMAS, "Jed S. Rakoff (USDC, SDNY)," accessed June 7, 2014
  3. ↑ NPR, "Judge Tosses Sarah Palin's Defamation Lawsuit Against 'The New York Times'," August 30, 2017
  4. ↑ NPR, "Appeals Court Revives Sarah Palin's Defamation Lawsuit Against 'The New York Times'," August 6, 2019
  5. ↑ Justia, "23-94th St. Grocery Corp. et al v. New York City Board of Health et al, No. 1:2010cv04392 - Document 63 (S.D.N.Y. 2010), accessed June 12, 2019
  6. ↑ Bloomberg, "S&P, Moody’s Found by Judge Not to Be Underwriters," June 1, 2010
  7. ↑ FINalternatives, "SEC Can Have Rajaratnam Wiretaps, Judge Rules," February 10, 2010
  8. ↑ Wall Street Journal Law Blog, "Over Before It Starts: SEC, BofA Settle Suit Over Merrill Bonuses," August 3, 2009
  9. ↑ Wall Street Journal Law Blog, "Rakoff on BofA, SEC Settlement: Not So Fast, Fellas," August 6, 2009
  10. ↑ McClatchy, "Federal judge rules Bank of America-SEC deal is 'unfair and unreasonable," September 15, 2009
  11. ↑ Washington Post, "Judge criticizes, but approves, settlement with Bank of America," February 23, 2010
  12. ↑ SEC v. Marc S. Dreier, "USDC, SDNY Civil Case No. 08 Civ. 10617," accessed August 6, 2015
  13. ↑ SEC v. Marc S. Dreier, "Civil Case No. 08 Civ. 10617," December 8, 2008
  14. ↑ Securitiesdocket.com, "Be Careful Asking for 12 Years… The Last Guy Who Did That Got 150 Years," July 8, 2009
  15. ↑ Do judges contribute to injustices? A conversation with Judge Jed Rakoff," April 13, 2017
  16. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
Political offices
Preceded by:
David Edelstein 		Southern District of New York
1996–2010 		Succeeded by:
Katherine Forrest



Flag of New York
v • e
State of New York
Albany (capital)
Elections

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2024 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Jed_Rakoff&oldid=9900048"