Judge Jed S. Rakoff

Jed S. Rakoff (born 1943) is a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. ^[1] Rakoff graduated with honors in English literature from Swarthmore College (BA 1964), earned his M. Phil. from Balliol College at Oxford University (1966), and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School (J.D. 1969). He has received honorary degrees from St. Francis University and from Swarthmore.^[2][3] Image File history File linksMetadata JSR.jpg Summary http://www. ... Image File history File linksMetadata JSR.jpg Summary http://www. ... Map of the boundaries of the United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. ... The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is comprised of the following counties: New York, Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan. ... Swarthmore College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, with an enrollment of about 1450 students. ... Full name Balliol College Motto - Named after John de Balliol Previous names - Established 1263 Sister College St Johns College, Cambridge Master Andrew Graham (academic) Location Broad Street Undergraduates 403 Graduates 228 Homepage Boatclub Balliol College, founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ...

After clerking for the Honorable Abraham Freedman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, he spent two years in private practice before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. He spent seven years with the Office, the last two as chief of business and securities fraud prosecutions. He then returned to private practice where he was a partner first with Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, Alexander & Ferdon, and then with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. Rakoff is also a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts: District of Delaware District of New Jersey Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania It also has appellate jurisdiction over the District Court of the... Columbia Law School, located in New York City, is one of the professional schools of Columbia University and one of the leading law schools in the United States. ...

Swarthmore, in conferring his honorary degree, noted that Rakoff is "broadly recognized as a legal thinker, scholar and judge who not only elucidates and enforces the law, but interprets, defends and challenges it in light of the principles of ethics and social justice that it is designed to serve" and that his opinions "are cited as models of intellectual clarity and judicial vision by lawyers and judges throughout this nation."

Rakoff is a leading authority on the law of white-collar crime, and has authored many articles on the topic, as well as leading treatises on RICO and corporate sentencing. Speaking about the federal mail fraud statute, Rakoff wrote, "To federal prosecutors of white-collar crime, the mail fraud statute is our Stradivarius, our Colt .45, our Louisville Slugger, our Cuisinart -- and our true love. We may flirt with [other laws] and call the conspiracy law 'darling,' but we always come home to the virtues of [mail fraud], with its simplicity, adaptability, and comfortable familiarity. It understands us and, like many a foolish spouse, we like to think we understand it." ^[4] RICO or the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act is a United States law which provides for extended penalties for criminal acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Notable cases

United States v. Quinones

In 2002, Rakoff declared the federal death penalty unconstitutional, writing that "the best available evidence indicates that, on the one hand, innocent people are sentenced to death with materially greater frequency than was previously supposed and that, on the other hand, convincing proof of their innocence often does not emerge until long after their convictions. It is therefore fully foreseeable that in enforcing the death penalty a meaningful number of innocent people will be executed who otherwise would eventually be able to prove their innocence. It follows that implementation of the Federal Death Penalty Act not only deprives innocent people of a significant opportunity to prove their innocence, and thereby violates procedural due process, but also creates an undue risk of executing innocent people, and thereby violates substantive due process." United States v. Quinones, 205 F. Supp. 2d 256 (S.D.N.Y. 2002) ^[5] Although the decision was subsequently reversed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, United States v. Quinones, 313 F.3d 49 (2d Cir. 2002), his opinion's recognition of the disturbing possibility that an actually innocent person might be executed was heralded by the New York Times as "a cogent, powerful argument that all members of Congress - indeed, all Americans - should contemplate." ^[6] Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ...

Associated Press v. Dep't of Defense

In November 2004, the Associated Press submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act seeking unredacted transcripts of the Department of Defense's Combatant Status Review Tribunals' proceedings and related documentation. ^[7] In response, the Government invoked FOIA's Exemption 6, claiming that they redacted identifying information in order to protect the detainees' personal privacy, but the Government never argued that any of the redactions were required by national security. Rakoff's rulings highlighted the hypocrisy of the Government's position -- as he wrote, "one might well wonder whether the detainees share the view that keeping their identities secret is in their own best interests" -- and held that, in any case, the detainees had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the information at issue. He therefore ordered the Department of Defense to release the unredacted transcripts (including the detainees' names) and related documentation.^[8] AP v. United States DOD, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 211 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 4, 2006).^[9] The Department of Defense released 317 names specified in hearing transcripts of the about 500 Guantanamo detainees. ^[10], ^[11] Associated Press logo This article concerns the news service. ... Nearly sixty countries around the world have implemented some form of freedom of information legislation, which sets rules on governmental secrecy. ... The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ... The United States Department of Defense held Combatant Status Review Tribunals from July 8, 2004 through March 29, 2005, to determine whether the detainees they had been holding at Guantanamo Bay were lawful combatants. ...

UMG Recordings, Inc. et al. v. MP3.com, Inc.

The Recording Industry Association of America, on behalf of the five major recording labels, brought suit against MP3.com. In UMG v. MP3.com, Rakoff granted partial summary judgment in favor of the RIAA, observing that internet companies "may have a misconception that, because their technology is somewhat novel, they are somehow immune from the ordinary applications of laws of the United States, including copyright law," but that "[t]hey need to understand that the law's domain knows no such limits." UMG Recordings, Inc. v. MP3.com, Inc., 92 F. Supp. 2d 349, 351 (S.D.N.Y. 2000) The RIAA Logo. ... MP3. ... UMG Recordings, Inc. ...

Aguinda v. Texaco

Judge Rakoff presided over a class action lawsuit against Texaco, brought under the Alien Tort Claims Act, by a class of Ecuadoreans, including several indigenous tribes, claiming that Texaco caused extensive destruction to the Oriente rainforest. Judge Rakoff dismissed the case on forum non conveniens grounds, writing "While reserving final decision on this motion, the Court is tentatively of the view that, if Ecuador provides an adequate alternative forum, it is the proper place to try these cases, with the Peruvian plaintiffs afforded the alternative of a Peruvian forum if they so prefer. Indeed, the voluminous record before the Court demonstrates that these cases… have everything to do with Ecuador and very little to do with the United States. Moreover, the notion that a New York jury (which plaintiffs have demanded) applying Ecuadorian law (which likely governs the claims here made) could meaningfully assess what occurred in the Amazonian rainforests of Ecuador in the late 1960's and early 1970's is problematic on its face..."

SEC v. WorldCom

Rakoff presided over the Securities and Exchange Commission's accounting fraud suit against WorldCom, and, on July 7, 2003, approved a settlement between the SEC and Worldcom.^[12] Rakoff appointed Richard C. Breeden, former Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, to serve as Corporate Monitor. Breeden actively involved himself in the management of the company, and prepared a report for Judge Rakoff, titled Restoring Trust, in which he proposed extensive corporate governance reforms, as part of an effort to "cast the new MCI into what he hoped would become a model of how shareholders should be protected and how companies should be run."^[13] The reforms were implemented, and Rakoff later credited Breeden with "helping to transform a fraud-ridden company into an honest, well-governed, economically viable entity, MCI, Inc." WorldCom was purchased by Verizon in January 2006. July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 177 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For a time, WorldCom (WCOM) was the United States second largest long distance phone company (AT&T was the largest). ... Richard Breeden In July of 2002, Richard C. Breeden (born 1949) was appointed to act as Corporate Monitor of WorldCom, Inc. ... The Securities and Exchange Commission, commonly referred to as the SEC, is the United States governing body which has primary responsibility for overseeing the regulation of the securities industry. ...

Motorola Credit Corp. v. Uzan

Motorola Credit Corporation and Nokia brought suit against the Uzan family of Turkey. Judge Rakoff found that the Uzans perpetrated a multi-billion-dollar fraud in connivance with various corporate defendants, involving the making of numerous false statements designed to induce Motorola and Nokia to extend the loans in issue, diluting the collateral pledged to secure the loans, and filing false criminal charges in Turkey against plaintiffs' senior executives, claiming that the executives engaged in "explicit and armed threat[s] to kill," blackmail, and kidnap members of the Uzan family. Rakoff awarded over $2.1 billion in compensatory damages and an equal amount in punitive damages. Motorola Credit Corp. v. Uzan, 274 F. Supp. 2d 481 (S.D.N.Y. 2003). Nokia Corporation NYSE: NOK is one of the worlds largest telecommunications equipment manufacturers. ...

In re Ephedra Products Liability Litigation

References

1. ^  Jed Saul Rakoff, US Department of Justice.
2. ^  Jed Rakoff '64: Honorary Degree Citation, Swarthmore College, June 1, 2003
3. ^  Jed S. Rakoff '64: Commencement Address, Swarthmore College, June 1, 2003
4. ^  Jed S. Rakoff, The Federal Mail Fraud Statute (Part 1), 18 Duq. L. Rev. 771 (1980).
5. ^  United States of America v. Alan Quinones et al, US Department of Justice, 205 F. Supp. 2d 256 (S.D.N.Y. 2002)
6. ^  Benjamin Weiser, A Legal Quest Against the Death Penalty; Chance of Error Is Too Great, Even for a Murder Victim's Brother, New York Times, January 2, 2005.
7. ^  Thom Shanker, Pentagon Plans to Tell Names of Detainees, New York Times, February 26, 2006;
8. ^  download); AP v. United States DOD, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2456 S.D.N.Y. January 23, 2006
9. ^  US to release partial list of Guantanamo detainees, Reuters, March 3, 2006
10. ^  Judge Orders Release of Gitmo Detainee IDs, Boston Globe, January 23, 2006
11. ^  Reprocessed Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) and Administrative Review Board (ARB) Documents Released March 3, 2006: Testimony of Detainees Before the Combatant Status Review Tribunal, US Department of Defense, March 3, 2006
12. ^  The Honorable Jed Rakoff Approves Settlement of SEC'S Claim for a Civil Penalty Against Worldcom, US Department of Justice, July 7, 2003.
13. ^  Restoring Trust: Corporate Governance for the future of MCI

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. ... Swarthmore College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, with an enrollment of about 1450 students. ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Swarthmore College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, with an enrollment of about 1450 students. ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Reuters Group plc LSE: RTR NASDAQ: RTRSY is best known as a news service that provides reports from around the world to newspapers and broadcasters. ... March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Boston Globe is the most widely-circulated daily newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts and in the greater New England region. ... January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ... March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. ... July 7 is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 177 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External Links

• United States District Court for the Southern District