Richard Wesley

Richard Wesley

Nonpartisan

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

Tenure

2016 - Present

Years in position

8

Prior offices

United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit

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Education

Bachelor's

State University of New York, Albany, 1971

Law

Cornell Law School, 1974

Personal

Birthplace

Canandaigua, N.Y.

Richard C. Wesley is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. He first joined the Court in 2003 after being nominated by President George W. Bush, and he assumed senior status on August 1, 2016. Prior to his appointment, Weasley served on the New York Court of Appeals.

Early life and education

Born in Canandaigua, New York, Wesley graduated from the State University of New York at Albany with his bachelor's degree in 1971 and from Cornell University Law School with his J.D. in 1974.

Professional career

• 1997-2003: Associate judge, State of New York Court of Appeals
• 1994-1997: Associate justice, New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 4th Judicial Department
• 1987-1994: Justice, New York Supreme Court, Seventh Judicial District
• 1983-1987: State assemblyman
• 1979-1982: Assistant minority counsel, New York State Assembly
• 1976-1987: Private practice, Geneseo, New York
• 1974-1976: Private practice, Pittsford, New York

Judicial career

2nd Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
Name: Richard C. Wesley
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 98 days after nomination.
ANominated: March 5, 2003
AABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire:
AHearing: May 22, 2003
Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
AReported: June 5, 2003
AConfirmed: June 11, 2003
AVote: 96-0

Wesley was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit by President George W. Bush on March 5, 2003, to a seat vacated by Pierre Leval as Leval assumed senior status. The American Bar Association rated Wesley Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Wesley's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on June 5, 2003, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) the same day. Wesley was confirmed by a 96-0 vote of the Senate on June 11, 2003, and he received his commission on June 12, 2003. He assumed senior status on the court on August 1, 2016.

Noteworthy cases

Town meeting prayer case (2012)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit (Galloway and Stephens v. Town of Greece, et al, 10-3635-cv)

The 100,000 resident town of Greece, NY, has violated a constitutional ban against favoring one religion over another, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in what is being deemed a significant test to the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state. The decision, issued on the May 17, 2012, stated that by opening nearly every monthly town meeting with Christian-centric prayers, the town was favoring Christianity over other religions.

The meetings in question took place every month between 1999 and 2007, and from January 2009 to June 2010 in the suburb of Rochester, New York. Who was to deliver the invocation was decided each month by a town employee who chose clerics or lay people from a local published guide of churches that did not include any places of worship outside of the Christian denomination. After complaints from two town residents, four of the 12 meetings in 2008 were opened by invocations from other faiths.

The suit first brought in 2010, was originally decided in favor of the city of Greece. The lower court ruled that there was no indication that one faith was favored over another, or that the town purposely excluded other faiths. The decision was overturned by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling that "the town's process for selecting prayer-givers virtually ensured a Christian viewpoint.”

In a 5-4 opinion released on May 5, 2014, the Supreme Court reversed the Second Circuit’s ruling, holding that "The town's practice of opening its town board meetings with a prayer offered by members of the clergy does not violate the Establishment Clause when the practice is consistent with the tradition long followed by Congress and state legislatures, the town does not discriminate against minority faiths in determining who may offer a prayer, and the prayer does not coerce participation with non-adherents."

VT Prison Labor Case (2012)

See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit

On Friday, August 3, the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit overturned the lower court decision and held that a suit could continue which alleged that the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, Vermont violated the 13^th amendment by requiring an individual to work in the laundry room for $0.25 an hour. The suit was filed by Finbar McGarry who alleged that during his time pending trial in the facility, he was forced to work 14 hour shifts, three days a week, and was punished with solitary confinement if he refused. He filed the suit a month before his release, requesting $11 million in damages. U.S. District Judge Garvan Murtha threw out the case claiming that McGarry did not prove that the forced work was akin to African American slavery, which the act was originally designed to protect against. The three judge appeals court composed of Robert Katzmann, Richard Wesley and the writing judge Barrington Parker disagreed, writing in their opinion, "The Amendment was intended to prohibit all forms of involuntary labor, not solely to abolish chattel slavery." In addition the court held that McGarry's pretrial status required that the state treat him differently as he was not yet convicted and the charges were later dropped. The case was remanded back to Judge Murtha for further evaluation.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
• News: Second Circuit gives go ahead for 13th Amendment Vermont prison lawsuit, August 14, 2012

External links

• Judge Wesley's biography from the Federal Judicial Center
• Judge Wesley's biography from the Second Circuit's website

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by: Pierre Leval	Second Circuit 2003–2016 Seat #6	Succeeded by: Richard Sullivan