Shira Scheindlin

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Shira Scheindlin
Image of Shira Scheindlin
Prior offices
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Successor: Lorna Schofield

Education

Bachelor's

University of Michigan, 1967

Graduate

Columbia University, 1969

Law

Cornell Law, 1975

Personal
Birthplace
District of Columbia


Shira A. Scheindlin is a former federal judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She joined the court in 1994 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton. She assumed senior status on August 16, 2011. On April 29, 2016, Judge Scheindlin retired from the federal bench.[1]

Prior to her appointment to the federal bench, Scheindlin was in private practice in New York City from 1990 to 1994.[2]

Education

Born in Washington, D.C., Scheindlin graduated from the University of Michigan with her bachelor's degree in 1967 and from Columbia University with her master's degree in 1969. Scheindlin obtained her J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1975.[1]

Professional career

  • 1990-1994: Private practice, New York City
  • 1986-1990: Private practice, Short Hills, New Jersey
  • 1983-1994: Adjunct professor, Brooklyn Law School
  • 1981-1982: General counsel, New York City Department of Investigation
  • 1977-1981: Assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of New York
  • 1976-1977: Law clerk, Honorable Charles Brieant, Southern District of New York
  • 1975-1976: Private practice, New York City[3]

Judicial career

Eastern District of New York, Magistrate

Scheindlin was a federal magistrate judge for the Eastern District of New York from 1982 to 1986.[3]

Southern District of New York

On the recommendation of U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Scheindlin was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President Bill Clinton (D) on July 28, 1994, to a seat vacated by Louis Freeh. Scheindlin was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 28, 1994, on a majority vote, and received commission on September 29, 1994.[4] She assumed senior status on August 16, 2011, and retired from the federal bench on April 29, 2016.[1]

Noteworthy cases

Judge strikes down NYPD "stop-and-frisk" tactics (2013)
See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ([Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 Floyd v. City of New York], 08 Civ. 1034)

In August 2013, Judge Scheindlin ruled that the New York Police Department's (NYPD) "stop-and-frisk" rule, which the NYPD credited with saving lives, disregarded the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. Judge Scheindlin also found that officers used racial profiling during the process, unfairly targeting minorities.[5]

The judge didn't rule out use of the program in the future, since the stop-and-frisk procedure was ruled constitutional in some circumstances previously by the Supreme Court of the United States (in Terry v. Ohio in 1968). However, Judge Scheindlin suggested steps to make the process more equitable, including a pilot project where police officers wear body cameras to record interactions and the solicitation of public feedback on the program.[6][7]

Update One

In October 2013, the Second Circuit removed Judge Scheindlin from Floyd v. City of New York and put the remedies proposed by the judge on hold. The previous court order was stayed until an appeal was heard by the panel. [8]

Judge Scheindlin was removed from the case as a result of interviews with the media in May 2013 which made the court question her impartiality. In response to the accusation that she violated the Code of Conduct for federal judges, Scheindlin said:

“ The interviews . . . were conducted under the express condition that I would not comment on the Floyd case. I did not. Some of the reporters used quotes from written opinions in Floyd that gave the appearance that I had commented on the case. However, a careful reading of each interview will reveal that no such comments were made.[9] [10] ”

Update Two

On November 22, 2013, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit, composed of Judge Jose Cabranes and Senior Judges John Walker and Barrington Parker, refused in a per curiam decision to vacate Judge Scheindlin's prior ruling which struck down the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy. The judges denied motions filed by New York City to transfer the court's October 2013 stay of Scheindlin's ruling into its vacation, and further denied as moot motions filed by Scheindlin in opposition to the City's previously described motions. Judge Scheindlin's groundbreaking "stop-and-frisk" decision still stands.[11]

Banks artificially inflate tech bubble IPO (2009)
See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (In Re: Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation, 21 MC 92 (SAS))

Judge Scheindlin presided in a class-action lawsuit over 309 cases in which shareholders of tech stocks accused underwriters of artificially inflating the value of stock in technology companies that went public in the 1990s. The judge approved a settlement of $586 million. The defendants include, among others, Credit Suisse First Boston Corp., The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., and Salomon Smith Barney, Inc. The tech burst happened in 2000 after many technology-laden stocks crashed after evidence was found that stock brokers issued false information that misled investors.[12]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Federal Judicial Center, "Biographical directory of federal judges," accessed April 29, 2016
  2. ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Scheindlin, Shira A.," accessed February 11, 2019
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Bio
  4. ↑ THOMAS, "Presidential Nominations 103rd Congress: Shira Scheindlin (USDC, SDNY)," accessed February 24, 2014
  5. ↑ New York Times, "Judge Rejects New York's Stop-and-Frisk Policy," August 12, 2013
  6. ↑ National Journal, "Why 'Stop and Frisk' Was Ruled Unconstitutional," August 12, 2013
  7. ↑ Nation Sun Journal, "Federal court strikes down New York's stop-and-frisk policy," August 12, 2013
  8. ↑ Center for Constitutional Rights, "Second Circuit Decision in Floyd v. City of New York FAQ," November 1, 2013
  9. ↑ New York Daily News, "Stop-and-frisk judge removed from case, reforms put on hold after federal appeals court ruling," October 31, 2013
  10. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  11. ↑ Courthouse News Service, "Boot to Stop-and-Frisk Judge Won't Kill Rulings," November 22, 2013
  12. ↑ Courthouse News Service, "N.Y. Judge Approves $586M IPO Settlement," October 7, 2009
Political offices
Preceded by:
Louis Freeh 		Southern District of New York
1994 –2011 		Succeeded by:
Lorna Schofield



New York courts

Federal courts:

Second Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of New York, Western District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York

State courts:

New York Court of Appeals • New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division • New York Supreme Court • New York County Courts • New York City Courts • New York Town and Village Courts • New York Family Courts • New York Surrogates' Courts • New York City Civil Court • New York City Criminal Courts • New York Court of Claims • New York Problem Solving Courts

State resources:

Courts in New York • New York judicial elections • Judicial selection in New York

Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Shira_Scheindlin&oldid=9868115"