Rosemary Pooler

Rosemary Pooler

Nonpartisan

United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit (senior status)

Tenure

Present officeholder

Prior offices

United States District Court for the Northern District of New York

Successor: Norman Mordue

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United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit

Successor: Alison J. Nathan

Predecessor: Frank Altimari

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Education

Bachelor's

Brooklyn College, 1959

Graduate

University of Connecticut, 1986

Law

University of Michigan Law School, 1965

Personal

Birthplace

New York, N.Y.

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Rosemary S. Pooler is a federal judge on senior status for the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. She joined the court in 1998 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton (D). She assumed senior status on March 23, 2020. Prior to her appointment, Pooler served on the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, which she joined in 1994 after an appointment from President Clinton. At the time of her appointment to that court, she served as a judge on the New York Supreme Court.

Alison Nathan was nominated by President Joe Biden (D) to replace Pooler on the 2nd Circuit.

Biography

Early life and education

Born in New York, New York, Pooler graduated from Brooklyn College with her bachelor's degree in 1959, and earned her M.A. from the University of Connecticut in 1961. Pooler received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1965. Pooler graduated from Harvard University's program for senior managers in government in 1978, and earned a certificate in regulatory economics from the State University of New York at Albany in 1986.

Professional career

Pooler began her legal career in the private sector in Syracuse, New York, from 1966 to 1972. Pooler was assistant corporate counsel and director of the consumer affairs unit for the city of Syracuse, New York, from 1972 to 1973, before serving as district representative to the Syracuse Commons Council from 1974 to 1975. Pooler served as chair and executive director for the New York State Consumer Protection Board from 1975 to 1980, before serving as commissioner of the New York State Public Service Commission from 1980 to 1986. In 1987, Pooler was staff director for the Committee on Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions of the New York State Assembly. Pooler was also a visiting professor of law at Syracuse University from 1987 to 1988. From 1989 to 1990, Pooler was the vice president of the Atlantic States Legal Foundation before being appointed to serve as justice of the New York Supreme Court for the Fifth Judicial District from 1990 to 1994.

Judicial career

2nd Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Rosemary S. Pooler
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 208 days after nomination.
ANominated: November 6, 1997
AABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: May 14, 1998
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: May 21, 1998
AConfirmed: June 2, 1998
AVote: Voice vote

Pooler was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit by President Bill Clinton (D) on November 6, 1997, to a seat vacated by Frank Altimari. The American Bar Association rated Pooler Unanimously Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Pooler's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on May 14, 1998, and her nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on May 21, 1998. Pooler was confirmed by a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on June 2, 1998, and she received her commission on June 3, 1998. Pooler served on the 2nd Circuit until she assumed senior status on March 23, 2022. She was succeeded by Alison J. Nathan.

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York

Pooler was nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York by President Bill Clinton (D) on April 26, 1994, to a seat vacated by Howard Munson. The American Bar Association rated Pooler Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Well Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Pooler's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on June 21, 1994, and her nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on August 4, 1994. She was confirmed by a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on August 9, 1994, and she received her commission on August 10, 1994. She resigned from the court on June 9, 1998, upon her elevation to the 2nd Circuit. She was succeeded in this position by Judge Norman Mordue.

Noteworthy cases

ADA's speech disruptive enough to uphold his firing (2013)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit (Sacha v. Sedita, 12-4507-cv)

On November 23, 2013, a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit, consisting of Chief Judge Robert Katzmann, Judge Rosemary Pooler, and Senior Judge Pierre Leval, upheld the dismissal of Mark Sacha’s lawsuit against Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III. In the underlying case, Sedita fired Sacha from his position as assistant district attorney following Sacha's public contention that Sedita failed to prosecute G. Steven Pigeon on allegations of election law violations (specifically, the alleged laundering of a $10,000 campaign contribution). Sacha claimed he was fired in retaliation for his criticism of Sedita and filed suit in December 2009, alleging that his First Amendment rights had been violated. Sedita filed a motion for summary judgment, and Chief Judge William Skretny of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York granted it in October 2012, citing the fact that his statements to the press were made in his capacity as an ADA, not as a private citizen, and thus his free speech rights had not been violated. That decision is available here. Sacha appealed Skretny's ruling to the 2nd Circuit, where the three-judge panel affirmed Skretny's ruling, but on alternate grounds, noting that "Sacha’s speech was sufficiently disruptive to justify terminating his employment as an assistant district attorney." Sacha vowed to file a further appeal, claiming that the Second Circuit's three-judge panel had a conflict of interest in hearing the case.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
• United States District Court for the Northern District of New York

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
• Biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Frank Altimari	United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit 1998-2022	Succeeded by Alison J. Nathan
Preceded by -	United States District Court for the Northern District of New York 1994-1998	Succeeded by Norman Mordue