Susan L. Carney (Second Circuit)

Susan L. Carney

Nonpartisan

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

Tenure

2022 - Present

Years in position

2

Prior offices

United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit

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Education

Bachelor's

Harvard University, 1973

Law

Harvard Law School, 1977

Personal

Birthplace

Waltham, Mass.

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Susan L. Carney is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. She joined the court in 2011 after being nominated by President Barack Obama (D). Prior to her nomination, she was deputy general counsel for Yale University.

On November 4, 2021, Carney announced that she would assume senior status upon the confirmation of her successor. Sarah A.L. Merriam was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 15, 2022.

Biography

Early life and education

Carney was born and raised in Massachusetts. She went to public schools in Lexington and Weston, Massachusetts. Carney attended Harvard College and graduated with an A.B. cum laude in 1973. Carney received a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1977.

Professional career

• 1998-2011: Office of general counsel, Yale University

2001-2011: Deputy general counsel

2008: Acting general counsel

1998-2001: Associate general counsel

• 1996-1998: Associate general counsel, Peace Corps
• 1994-1996: Private practice, Washington, D.C.
• 1988-1993: Independent legal consultant, Washington, D.C.
• 1979-1988: Private practice, Washington, D.C.
• 1979: Private practice, Boston, Mass.
• 1977-1978: Law Clerk, Hon. Levin Hicks Campbell, United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit

Judicial career

2nd Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Susan L. Carney
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 362 days after nomination.
ANominated: May 20, 2010
AABA Rating: Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Not Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: September 15, 2010
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: February 17, 2011  December 1, 2010
AConfirmed: May 17, 2011
AVote: 71-28

Carney was first nominated by President Obama (D) on May 20, 2010, to fill a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit vacated by Barrington Parker as Parker assumed senior status. Obama said of the nomination, "At every step of her career, Susan Carney has performed with excellence and unwavering integrity. I am confident she will serve the people of Connecticut with distinction on the Circuit Court bench."

The American Bar Association rated Carney Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Not Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Carney's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on September 15, 2010, and her nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on December 1, 2010. Under provisions of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6, of the standing rules of the U.S. Senate, Carney's nomination was returned to the president on December 22, 2010. President Obama resubmitted her nomination on January 5, 2011, and Senator Leahy reported her nomination on February 17, 2011. Carney was confirmed by a 71-28 vote of the U.S. Senate on May 17, 2011, and she received her commission the same day.

Noteworthy cases

Second Circuit rules against government in Stored Communications Act warrants case (2016)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit (Microsoft Corporation v. United States of America)

On July 14, 2016, the Second Circuit overturned a decision of a federal district court in Microsoft Corporation v. United States of America. Judge Susan Carney delivered the opinion of the circuit panel. On October 16, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in this case during its October 2017 term.

A provision of the Stored Communications Act (SCA), Section 2703, authorizes law enforcement to obtain various judicial directives in order to compel private companies to disclose user data. According to The Georgetown Law Tech Review,

“

The disclosure mechanisms operate in a tiered system: court orders require the lowest standards for evidence, but only allow access to customer record information. Subpoenas require an equivalent level of reasonable suspicion, and allow law enforcement to view non-content data of specific messages. The highest level of protection is provided for the contents of communications in electronic storage that have been stored for 180 days or fewer. To access such data, law enforcement must obtain an SCA warrant consistent with the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, including a showing of probable cause to a magistrate judge. Each mechanism also allows access to the information obtainable by a lesser degree of proof in a sliding scale: law enforcement officials could obtain a warrant and see all the information available through a court order, for example.

”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) obtained a Section 2703 warrant that directed Microsoft to "seize and produce the contents of an e‐mail account that it maintains for a customer who uses the company’s electronic communications services." Microsoft produced the customer's non-content information, which was stored on servers in the United States, but Microsoft declined to access the customer's content that was stored and maintained in Ireland. Microsoft filed a motion to quash the warrant, which a federal magistrate judge denied. A federal district court held Microsoft in contempt of court for refusing to execute the warrant as directed by the FBI. Microsoft appealed the denial of its motion to quash the warrant and the contempt citation. A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Susan Carney, reversed the lower court as to the decision to deny Microsoft's motion to quash the warrant and vacated the lower's contempt citation. Judge Carney held that "the application of the Act that the government proposes ― interpreting 'warrant' to require a service provider to retrieve material from beyond the borders of the United States ― would require us to disregard the presumption against extraterritoriality that the Supreme Court re‐stated and emphasized in Morrison v. National Australian Bank Ltd., ... and, just recently, in RJR Nabisco, Inc. v. European Cmty. ... We are not at liberty to do so."

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
• Biography from the Federal Judicial Center

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit 2011-2022	Succeeded by -

Federal judges nominated by Barack Obama
Nominated	Federal judges nominated by Barack Obama