Morris Lasker

Morris Lasker

---

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

---

Education

Bachelor's

Harvard, 1938

Law

Yale Law School, 1941

Personal

Birthplace

Hartsdale, N.Y.

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; }

Morris E. Lasker (b.July 17, 1917-d.December 25, 2009) was a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He joined the court in 1968 after being nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Lasker later assumed senior status on October 3, 1983.

Early life and education

Lasker graduated from Harvard with his bachelor's degree in 1938 and later graduated from Yale Law School with his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1941 and also served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1946. Lasker was a World War II veteran specializing in the Army Air Force.

Professional career

Lasker began his legal career in the U.S. Senate as a Staff Attorney on a special Senate committee investigating national defense programs from 1941 to 1942 before becoming a private practice attorney with the New York City based firm of Battle, Fowler, Levy & Nearman from 1946 to 1968. From 1942 to 1946, Lasker took a four year hiatus from his professional career to serve in World War II for the U.S. Army. Lakser also served as a Town attorney for Town of New Castle, NY from 1955 to 1957 and was a Justice of the peace for the Town of New Castle from 1957 to 1958.

Judicial career

Southern District of New York

Lasker was nominated by Lyndon B. Johnson on November 28, 1967 to a seat vacated by Richard Levet. Lasker was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 24, 1968 and received commission on June 24, 1968. Lasker assumed senior status on October 3, 1983. Lasker later transferred to the District of Massachusetts in 1993 hearing cases on senior status.

Noteworthy cases

Ivan Boesky case (1987)

Judge Lasker presided in the high profile insider trading trial of Wall Street trader Ivan Boesky in what was considered the biggest trading scandal of the 1980s. Lasker in 1987 sentenced Boesky in three years in prison after being convicted on charges of insider trading. Boesky got a lighter sentence from the judge after cooperating with federal prosecutors. In a separate civil trial, Boesky settled to pay $100 in damages.

NYC jails (1974)

Judge Lasker will be remembered for a series of rulings in the 1970s and 1980s in which he forced New York City to change how it conducted business in its jails. During that time the Legal Aid Society of New York City filed numerous lawsuits against the City of New York for civil rights violations in the Manhattan House of Detention and Rikier's Island.

The City of New York was found liable in the lawsuits after there was evidence that the jails had severe overcrowding issues that lead to numerous other problems. In one case involving Rikier's Island, the City of New York was found liable for not providing access to inmates for medical care and phone calls. Lasker in 1974 ordered The Tombs, another detention facility in Manhattan closed after Lasker found the jail to had severe overcrowding and forcing inmates to sleep on the floor along with dealing with filthy conditions such as cockroaches and mice.

Judicial style

Despite some criticism of Lasker for engaging in judicial activism, many have praised Lasker for being a thoughtful and effective jurist in his affairs as a federal judge. People who knew Lasker found him to be someone who always loved his profession and was very reluctant to retire after assuming senior status in 1983.

Those who have criticized Lasker for being an activist judge base their objections on his rulings in the 1970s and 1980s upholding prisoner's rights in which some of the landmark rulings seemed to be controversial in the mainstream. Lasker said in one ruling on the violations of prisoner's rights in a New York City jail: “would shock the conscience of any citizen who knew of them" according to the judge. Also, Lasker toured prisons in New York City seeing the conditions first hand for himself. Despite the criticisms, Lasker was noted to be soft spoken but firm in administering his rulings.

See also

• United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

External links

• List of Article III judges of the Southern District of New York

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by: Richard Levet	Southern District of New York 1968–1983	Succeeded by: John Walker