United States District Court for the Northern District of New York

Northern District of New York
Second Circuit
Judgeships
Posts: 5
Judges: 5
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: Brenda K. Sannes
Active judges: Anthony Brindisi, Elizabeth Coombe, Mae A. D'Agostino, Anne M. Nardacci, Brenda K. Sannes Senior judges: David Hurd, Lawrence Kahn, Thomas McAvoy, Frederick Scullin, Glenn Suddaby

The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York is one of 94 United States district courts. The court operates in five locations: Albany, Binghamton, Plattsburgh, Syracuse, and Utica, New York. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit based in Lower Manhattan at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Federal Courthouse.

Vacancies

See also: Current federal judicial vacancies

There are no current vacancies on the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, out of the court's five judicial positions.

Pending nominations

There are no pending nominees for this court.

Active judges

Article III judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Mae A. D'Agostino	Barack Obama (D)	March 30, 2011 -	Siena College, 1977	Syracuse University Law, 1980
Brenda K. Sannes	Barack Obama (D)	November 21, 2014 -	Carleton College, 1980	University of Wisconsin Law School, 1983
Anne M. Nardacci	Joe Biden (D)	December 16, 2022 -	Georgetown University, 1998	Cornell Law School, 2002
Anthony Brindisi	Joe Biden (D)	December 9, 2024 -	Siena College, 2000	Albany Law School, 2004
Elizabeth Coombe	Joe Biden (D)	December 9, 2024 -	Hamilton College, 1989	University of Michigan Law School, 1992

Active Article III judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 5
• Republican appointed: 0

Senior judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Thomas McAvoy	Ronald Reagan (R)	September 17, 2003 -	Villanova University, 1960	Albany Law School, 1964
Frederick Scullin	George H.W. Bush (R)	March 13, 2006 -	Niagara University, 1961	Syracuse University Law, 1964
Lawrence Kahn	Bill Clinton (D)	August 1, 2007 -	Union College, 1959	Harvard Law School, 1962
Glenn Suddaby	George W. Bush (R)	September 1, 2024 -	State University of New York, Plattsburgh, 1980	Syracuse University Law, 1985
David Hurd	Bill Clinton (D)	December 9, 2024 -	Cornell University, 1959	Syracuse University College of Law, 1963

Senior judges by appointing political party

The list below displays the number of senior judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 2
• Republican appointed: 3

Magistrate judges

Federal magistrate judges are federal judges who serve in United States district courts, but they are not appointed by the president and they do not serve life terms. Magistrate judges are assigned duties by the district judges in the district in which they serve. They may preside over most phases of federal proceedings, except for criminal felony trials. The specific duties of a magistrate judge vary from district to district, but the responsibilities always include handling matters that would otherwise be on the dockets of the district judges. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years. Some federal district courts have part-time magistrate judges, who serve for renewable terms of four years.

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Andrew T. Baxter		January 3, 2010 -	Princeton, 1978	Harvard Law, 1981
Therese Wiley Dancks	Board of Judges of the Northern District of New York	February 9, 2012 -	LeMoyne College, 1985	Syracuse University Law, 1991
Christian F. Hummel		September 1, 2012 -	State University at Plattsburgh	Albany Law School
Gary L. Favro		October 1, 2014 -	State University of New York, Plattsburgh, 1973	Albany Law School, 1976
Daniel J. Stewart		September 28, 2015 -	University of Notre Dame, 1985	Albany Law School, 1988
Miroslav Lovric		July 1, 2019 -	Columbia University	Hofstra University School of Law

Former Chief judges

In order to qualify for the office of chief judge in an Article III circuit or district court, or on the United States Court of International Trade, a judge must be in active service and hold seniority over the court's commissioned judges who are 64 years of age or under, have served one year or more, and have not previously served as chief judge.

In the event that no judge on the court meets those qualifications, the youngest judge in regular active service aged 65 years or more and who has served as a judge for one year or more shall become chief judge. If no judge meets those qualifications, the judge holding seniority in active service who has not served as chief before shall become the chief judge.

The chief judge serves for a term of seven years until another judge becomes eligible to serve in the position. No judge is permitted to serve as chief judge after reaching the age of 70 years unless no other judge is qualified to serve.

Unlike the chief justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of their term and does not create a vacancy on the court by the fact of their promotion.

On the United States Court of Federal Claims, the chief judge is selected by the president of the United States. The judge must be less than 70 years of age. A chief may serve until they reach age 70 or until another judge is designated by the president as the new chief judge. If the president selects a new chief judge, the former chief judge may continue active service on the court for the remainder of their appointed term.

Glenn Suddaby - (2015 - 2022) Gary Sharpe - (2011 - 2015) Norman Mordue - (2006 - 2011) Frederick Scullin - (2000 - 2006) Thomas McAvoy - (1993 - 2000) Neal McCurn - (1988 - 1993) Howard Munson - (1980 - 1988) James Foley - (1963 - 1980) Stephen Brennan - (1948 - 1963)

Former judges

For information about the judges of the Northern District of New York, see former federal judges of the Northern District of New York.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of the Northern District of New York (click for larger map)

The Northern District of New York has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law. The court has five locations in Albany, Binghamton, Plattsburgh, Syracuse and Utica.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Northern District of New York consists of all the following counties in the northern part of the state of New York.

• Albany County
• Broome County
• Cayuga County
• Chenango County
• Clinton County
• Columbia County
• Cortland County
• Delaware County
• Essex County
• Franklin County
• Fulton County
• Greene County
• Hamilton County
• Herkimer County
• Jefferson County
• Lewis County
• Madison County
• Montgomery County
• Oneida County
• Onondaga County
• Oswego County
• Otsego County
• Rensselaer County
• Saratoga County
• Schenectady County
• Schoharie County
• St. Lawrence County
• Tioga County
• Tompkins County
• Ulster County
• Warren County
• Washington County

Caseloads

This section contains court management statistics dating back to 2010. It was last updated in September 2024.

Click [show] below for more information on caseload terms and definitions.

Caseload statistics explanation
Term	Explanation
Cases filed and terminated	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated or decided by the court in a calendar year. The chart below reflects the table columns Cases filed and Cases terminated.
Average time from filing to disposition	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to date of disposition (acquittal, sentencing, dismissal, etc.). The chart below reflects the table columns Median time (Criminal) and Median time (Civil).
Starting case load	The number of cases pending from the previous calendar year.
Cases filed	The number of civil and criminal lawsuits formally initiated in a calendar year.
Cases terminated	The total number of civil and criminal lawsuits decided by the court in a calendar year.
Remaining cases	The number of civil and criminal cases pending at the end of a given year.
Median time (Criminal)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition. In criminal cases, the date of disposition occurs on the day of sentencing or acquittal/dismissal.
Median time (Civil)	The average amount of time, in months, from a case's date of filing to the date of disposition.
Three-year civil cases	The number and percent of civil cases that were filed more than three years before the end of the given calendar year.
Vacant posts	The number of months during the year an authorized judgeship was vacant.
Trial/Post	The number of trials completed divided by the number of authorized judgeships on the court. Trials include evidentiary trials, hearings on temporary restraining orders, and preliminary injunctions.
Source: United States Courts, "Explanation of the Judicial Caseload Profiles for United States District Courts," accessed September 25, 2018

United States District Court for the Northern District of New York caseload stats, 2010-2023
Year	Cases Filed	Cases Terminated	Cases Pending	Number of Judgeships	Vacant Judgeship Months	Average Total Filings per Judgeship	Trials Completed per Judgeship	Median time from filing to disposition, criminal	Median time from filing to disposition, civil	Three-year civil cases (#)	Three-year civil cases (%)
2010	2,421	2,405	3,095	5	12	484	39	10	12	183	9
2011	2,193	2,126	2,718	5	3	439	36	13	11	160	8
2012	2,713	2,687	3,169	5	0	543	21	11	12	177	8
2013	2,342	2,501	3,039	5	6	468	29	13	11	165	8
2014	2,451	2,637	2,853	5	11	490	20	13	11	178	8
2015	2,320	2,422	2,742	5	0	464	13	12	11	173	8
2016	2,239	2,288	2,701	5	12	448	16	12	13	165	8
2017	2,188	2,324	2,546	5	12	438	16	11	11	227	12
2018	2,270	2,413	2,447	5	12	454	12	11	9	167	9
2019	2,432	2,298	2,610	5	12	486	12	9	9	174	9
2020	2,363	2,126	2,876	5	12	473	4	11	9	237	11
2021	2,089	2,103	2,892	5	12	418	16	11	10	240	12
2022	2,187	2,507	2,440	5	12	437	13	13	12	264	15
2023	2,471	2,369	2,540	5	0	494	9	12	8	274	15
Average	2,334	2,372	2,762	5	8	467	18	12	11	199	10

History

The Northern District is a successor to the original District of New York, which was split into Northern and Southern Districts on April 9, 1814. The United States District Court for the District of New York was the first District Court ever convened under the sovereignty of the United States, with Judge James Duane presiding on November 3, 1789. The Northern District was split again in 1900, giving rise to the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. The district now covers thirty-two counties in upstate New York, with an extensive border with Canada to the north.

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the Eastern District of New York:

Year	Statute	Total Seats
September 24, 1789	1 Stat. 73	1 (District of New York)
April 9, 1814	3 Stat. 120	1 (Creation of court)
March 3, 1927	44 Stat. 1374	2
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	3
July 10, 1984	98 Stat. 333	4
December 1, 1990	104 Stat. 5089	4 (1 Temporary)
November 2, 2002	116 Stat. 1758	5

Noteworthy cases

For a searchable list of opinions, please see Opinions of the Northern District of New York.

• Judge overturns ban on concealed weapons in D.C. (2014)

Click for summary→

Finding that there is a Second Amendment right to carry a weapon outside of the home, Judge Frederick Scullin overturned a ban in the District of Columbia on concealed weapons. Judge Scullin, however, said some restrictions, such requisite age to carry, mental health requirements and bans in public schools, are reasonable and constitutional. Interestingly, Judge Scullin was appointed to this case by chief justice of the United States Supreme Court John Roberts. Articles: Washington Post, "Federal judge declares D.C. ban on carrying handguns in public unconstitutional," July 27, 2014 NPR, "Judges Overturns D.C. Ban On Handguns In Public," July 27, 2014 LA Times, "Washington handgun ban unconstitutional, judge rules," July 27, 2014

• Illegal gambling indictments dismissed (2014)

Click for summary→

At the request of prosecutors, Judge Thomas McAvoy dismissed gambling indictments against two men who were accused of operating an illegal casino on St. Regis Mohawk tribal grounds. Three other men were found not guilty of similar charges following a trial in December 2013. Articles: Malone Telegram, "Judge dismisses illegal gambling indictments against two Hogansburg men," June 20, 2014 (dead link) Indian Gaming, "Judge dismisses charges in unauthorized Mohawk gaming case," June 19, 2014

• Convicted murderer, rapist sentenced in child pornography case (2014)      Judge(s):Norman Mordue (U.S. v. Renz, 5:13-cr-00143-NAM)	Click for summary→
On March 19, 2014, Judge Norman Mordue sentenced convicted murderer and rapist David Renz to 30 years in prison on child pornography charges. Renz was in possession of 11,000 sexual images of children and 1,100 pornographic videos of children. Renz was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography in March 2013. He was released pending trial on those charges, and went on to murder a school librarian and rape a ten-year-old girl. Renz pleaded guilty to murder and rape in July 2013, facing a sentence of life without the possibility of parole on those charges. Renz pleaded guilty to the child pornography charges in October 2013. During his sentencing hearing for the child pornography charges, the prosecutor asked Judge Mordue to give Renz a sentence greater than the 19 to 24 years recommended in federal guidelines due to the "sheer evil" of his actions. Mordue agreed with the prosecutor, sentencing Renz to 30 years in prison, consecutive to his sentence for murder and rape.

• $36 million tax fraud and evasion conviction (2013) (U.S. v. Unger, 1:12-cr-00579)	Click for summary→
On October 21, 2013, a jury convicted Glenn Unger of seven counts related to tax fraud and tax evasion after he sought to obtain more $36 million in tax refunds from the IRS between 2007 and 2011. The specific charges are as follows: obstructing and impeding the Internal Revenue Service; filing false claims against the United States; tax evasion; and passing fictitious obligations. At the outset of the trial, Unger, a member of the sovereign citizen movement, asserted that the court had no jurisdiction over him. Unger represented himself for a portion of the trial, but was ultimately removed from the courtroom following his disruptive behavior by presiding Judge Thomas McAvoy. Unger faces up to 25 years in prison.

• New York 2012 primary date (2012)	Click for summary→
On June 27, 2012, Judge Gary Sharpe delivered a ruling establishing the date of the New York congressional primary as June 26, 2012. This date was 35 days prior to the deadline for sending absentee ballots overseas. New York originally intended to hold its primary early in September, but the judge found that the original primary date was too late to get up-to-date ballots overseas. Sharpe wrote in his opinion, "Nothing is more critical to a vibrant democratic society than citizen participation in government through the act of voting. It is unconscionable to send men and women overseas to preserve our democracy while simultaneously disenfranchising them while they are gone. To some extent, that is precisely what New York has done. Having had ample opportunity to correct the problem, it has failed to find the political will to do so." However, many criticized the early date, saying that it would cause problems for New York's delayed redistricting process, which left many candidates wondering which district they were running in. The presidential primary was held separately on April 24, 2012.

• Joseph Bruno case (2009)	Click for summary→
Judge Gary Sharpe presided in the case of former New York Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. Bruno was charged with corruption in an attempt to use his public office for personal gain. On August 21, 2009, Sharpe rejected a motion from Bruno's defense team asking the grand jury indictment to be tossed out over claims that federal prosecutors were not explicit enough in its findings to indict the former Senator. Bruno's trial began on November 2, 2009, as Bruno was tried on eight counts of federal corruption charges. The trial concluded on December 7, 2009, when a jury of seven women and five men convicted the former State Senator on two of eight corruption counts. The sentencing for the former Senate leader was originally scheduled for March 31, 2010, but was delayed until May 6, 2010, on a judge's order issued on February 24, 2010. On the same day, the judge denied a request by Bruno's attorneys for a new trial. Judge Sharpe said Bruno's attorneys failed to prove evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to warrant a new trial. Former New York Governor George Pataki made a plea to Sharpe on May 4, 2010, to look at what Bruno had done during his career before rendering his sentence. Bruno's attorneys also asked the judge not to consider a prison sentence over health issues the former Senator was facing. On May 6, 2010, Sharpe sentenced former State Senator Bruno to two years in federal prison.

Federal courthouse

The court's main office is housed in the James F. Hanley Federal Building in Syracuse.

About United States District Courts

The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. There are 94 such courts. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of both law and equity.

There is a United States bankruptcy court and a number of bankruptcy judges associated with each United States district court. Each federal judicial district has at least one courthouse, and most districts have more than one.

There is at least one judicial district for each state, and one each for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. District courts in three insular areas—the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands—exercise the same jurisdiction as U.S. district courts. Despite their name, these courts are technically not District Courts of the United States. Judges on these territorial courts do not enjoy the protections of Article III of the Constitution, and serve terms of 10 years rather than for life.

There are 677 U.S. District Court judgeships.

The number of federal district judge positions is set by the U.S. Congress in Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 133, which authorizes a set number of judge positions, or judgeships, making changes and adjustments in these numbers from time to time.

In order to relieve the pressure of trying the hundreds of thousands of cases brought before the federal district courts each year, many trials are tried by juries, along with a presiding judge.

Appointments by president

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through February 1 of the first year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, no president had made Article III judicial appointments.

Judges by district

See also: Judicial vacancies in federal courts

The table below displays the number of judges in each district and indicates how many were appointed by presidents from each major political party. It also includes the number of vacancies in a district and how many pending nominations for that district are before the United States Senate. The table can be sorted by clicking the column headers above the line, and you can navigate through the pages by clicking the arrows at the top of the table. It is updated every Monday.

Judicial selection

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges who are appointed for life during "good behavior." They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States makes the appointments, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.

Step	A Candidacy Proceeds	A Candidacy Halts
1. Recommendation made by Congress Member to the President	President Nominates to Senate Judiciary Committee	President Declines Nomination
2. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews Candidate	Sends candidate to Senate for confirmation	Returns candidate to President, who may re-nominate to Committee
3. Senate votes on candidate confirmation	Candidate becomes federal judge	Candidate does not receive judgeship

Magistrate judges

The district courts are also served by magistrate judges. Congress created the judicial office of federal magistrate in 1968. In 1990, the position title was changed to magistrate judge. The chief judge of each district appoints one or more magistrate judges, who discharge many of the ancillary duties of district judges so judges can handle more trials. There are both full-time and part-time magistrate judge positions, and these positions are assigned to the district courts according to caseload criteria (subject to funding by Congress). A full-time magistrate judge serves a term of eight years; a part-time magistrate judge's term of office is four years.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
• District of Connecticut
• Eastern District of New York
• Southern District of New York
• Western District of New York
• District of Vermont

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, "Official Website"
• United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, "Official Website"
• Northern District of New York, "Judge Biographies"
• Justia, "Northern District of New York Cases"