EDNY Magistrate Judge Vacancy

PUBLIC NOTICE

FEDERAL MAGISTRATE JUDGE VACANCY

There is one (1) full-time United States Magistrate Judge position vacancy at the Long Island Courthouse of the Eastern District of New York located at 100 Federal Plaza, Central Islip, NY 11722 effective August 5, 2014.  The duties of the position are demanding and wide-ranging, and will include: (1) conduct of preliminary proceedings in criminal cases; (2) trial and disposition of misdemeanor cases; (3) conduct of various pretrial matters and evidentiary proceedings on delegation from the judges of the district court; (4) trial and disposition of civil cases upon consent of the litigants; and (5) assignment of additional duties not inconsistent with the Constitution and the laws of the United States.

The basic jurisdiction of a United States Magistrate Judge is specified in 28 U.S.C., section 636.  To be qualified for appointment, an applicant must: (a) be a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of a state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands for at least five years; (b) have been engaged in the active practice of law for a period of at least five years (with some substitutions authorized); © be competent to perform all the duties of the office, of good moral character, emotionally stable and mature, committed to equal justice under the law, in good health, patient and courteous, and capable of deliberation and decisiveness; (d) be less than 70 years old; and (e) not be related to a judge of the district court.  An applicant should have federal court experience and be knowledgeable in federal civil and criminal practices and procedures.

A Merit Selection Panel composed of attorneys and other residents of the district will review all applications and recommend in confidence to the judges of the district court the five persons whom it considers best qualified.  The Court will make the appointment following an FBI and IRS investigation of the appointees.  An affirmative effort will be made to give due consideration to all qualified candidates, including women and members of minority groups.  The salary of each position is now $183,172 per annum.  The term of office is eight years.

Please note that the application form can be accessed on-line at the district’s website: www.nyed.uscourts.gov.  Application forms also may be obtained from the Clerk of the Court at 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York 11201, (718) 613-2270.  Applications must be personally prepared by potential nominees and must be received no later than September 19, 2014.  A disk in Word or pdf and seventeen (17) copies of the completed application must be mailed or delivered to the office of the Clerk of Court at the above address.

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At the 2013 NAPABA Northeast Regional/AABANY Fall Conference hosted by Weil Gotshal, a plenary session was held during the luncheon to explore the recent United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin.

The luncheon was sponsored by Kobre & Kim. Welcome remarks were given by Mike Huang, President of AABANY, Fred Green, Management Committee Member, Mergers & Acquisitions Partner and Sponsor to the Asian Attorney Affinity Group at Weil, and Wendy Shiba, President of NAPABA. Board member and past AABANY President Robert Leung presented brief remarks about AABANY’s newest committee, the Career Placement Committee, and invited broad participation in it.

The Program Chair for the plenary session was Sarah Seo, Co-Chair of the Academic Committee. She introduced the Hon. Pamela K. Chen, United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, moderator of the panel.

Panelists included Khin Mai Aung, Director of the Educational Equity Program at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), who submitted an amicus brief in the Fisher case, and Hemmie Chang, Partner at Foley Hoag, who led her firm’s efforts in supporting AALDEF’s amicus filing in Fisher. Also on the panel were Michael Park, Partner at Dechert, and William Consovoy, Partner at Wiley Rein, who submitted briefs on Fisher’s side of the case before the Supreme Court.

The room was filled to capacity and many of the attendees had to go to the overflow room next door to watch the panel discussion on video.

The panel took several thoughtful and pointed questions from the audience during the Q&A portion.

Thanks to our Key Sponsor Hudson Court Reporting and Video for taking video and transcription of the plenary session.

EDNY, SDNY Seek Comment on Local Rules Amendments

EASTERN AND SOUTHERN DISTRICTS ADOPT REVISIONS TO LOCAL RULES, INVITE PUBLIC COMMENT

The United States District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York have adopted amendments to Local Civil Rules 5.2, 6.1, 7.1, and 37.2. The revisions are available at https://www.nyed.uscourts.gov/ or www.nysd.uscourts.gov. Prior to the revised rules taking effect, the public is invited to comment. Comments are to be submitted in writing on or at the close of business on Friday, June 28, 2013 to either:

Edward A. Friedland
District Court Executive
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
500 Pearl Street, Room 820
New York, NY 10007-1312

or

Douglas C. Palmer
Clerk of Court
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
225 Cadman Plaza
Brooklyn, NY 11201

The revisions will become effective upon approval by the Second Circuit Judicial Council.

EASTERN AND SOUTHERN DISTRICTS ADOPT REVISIONS TO JOINT LOCAL CIVIL RULE 54.1, REQUEST COMMENT BY APRIL 5

The United States District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York have adopted revisions to Local Civil Rule 54.1. The revisions are available at https://www.nyed.uscourts.gov/ or www.nysd.uscourts.gov; they are also attached to this e-mail.

Prior to the revised rules taking effect, the public is invited to comment. Comments are to be submitted in writing on or at the close of business on Friday, April 5, 2013 to either:

Edward A. Friedland
District Court Executive
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
500 Pearl Street, Room 820
New York, NY 10007-1312

or

Douglas C. Palmer
Clerk of Court
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
225 Cadman Plaza
Brooklyn, NY 11201

The revisions will become effective upon approval by the Second Circuit Judicial Council. 

NAPABA and AAJC Applaud Confirmation of Pamela K.M. Chen to the Eastern District of New York

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
March 4, 2013

NAPABA Contact: Emily Chatterjee (202) 775-9555 
AAJC Contact: Kimberly Goulart (202) 499-7027

NAPABA and AAJC Applaud Confirmation of 
Pamela K.M. Chen to the Eastern District of New York

WASHINGTON – Today, the Senate confirmed Pamela K.M. Chen by a voice vote to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She becomes the first openly gay Asian Pacific American to serve on the federal judiciary.

“NAPABA congratulates Pam Chen on her historic nomination and confirmation and is proud to have supported her in the nomination and confirmation process along with the LGBT community,” said Wendy Shiba, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). “We applaud President Obama and Senator Schumer for their continued commitment to diversifying the federal judiciary.”

For almost 14 years, Judge Chen has served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where she has served as chief of the Civil Rights Section for more than eight years, and previously as a deputy chief of the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division. She also served as a deputy commissioner for enforcement at the New York State Division of Human Rights, as a trial attorney in the Justice Department in Washington D.C., and in private practice. Judge Chen has won numerous awards for her work, particularly in addressing human trafficking.

“Judge Chen’s confirmation is a step in the right direction,” said Mee Moua, president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice. “There are more than 40 federal District Court judges in New York City. Judge Chen will become the third Asian Pacific American, bringing APA representation on the bench more in line with our 14 percent share of the city’s population.”

Judge Chen’s confirmation increases the number of active Asian Pacific American Article III judges to 18 nationwide: two federal Appellate Court judges and 16 federal District Court judges. President Obama nominated a record 17 Asian Pacific American to the Article III courts. Three more Asian Pacific American Article III nominees are pending in the Senate: Sri Srinivasan, nominee for the U.S. Circuit Court for the D.C. Circuit; Raymond T. Chen, nominee for the U.S. Circuit Court for the Federal Circuit; and Derrick Kahala Watson, nominee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. NAPABA and AAJC urge the Senate to move quickly to confirm these individuals, who are highly qualified for the federal bench.

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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) is the national association of Asian Pacific American attorneys, judges, law professors and law students. NAPABA represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys and 62 local Asian Pacific American bar associations. Its members represent solo practitioners, large firm lawyers, corporate counsel, legal service and non-profit attorneys, and lawyers serving at all levels of government. NAPABA continues to be a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian Pacific American communities. Through its national network of committees and affiliates, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes professional development of minorities in the legal profession.

The Asian American Justice Center (www.advancingequality.org), a member of the Asian American Center for Advancing Justice (www.advancingjustice.org), works closely with the other Advancing Justice members – the Asian American Institute in Chicago (www.aaichicago.org), the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco (www.asianlawcaucus.org) and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles (www.apalc.org) – to promote a fair and equitable society for all by working for civil and human rights and empowering Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other underserved communities.

From SDNY/EDNY: Changes to Rules Effective Feb. 25

EASTERN AND SOUTHERN DISTRICTS ADOPT REVISIONS TO JOINT LOCAL CIVIL RULE AND LOCAL ADMIRALTY RULES EFFECTIVE FEBRUARY 25

The United States District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York have adopted revisions to Joint Local Civil Rule 1.5 and Local Admiralty Rules B.2 and C.1. The revised rules go into effect on Monday, February 25 and can be found online at http://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/courtrules.php.
       

The courts adopted new subsection (h) of Local Civil Rule 1.5 to impose an obligation upon an attorney who has been disbarred, suspended, or censured by one court to notify other courts. The courts amended Local Admiralty Rule B.2 to clarify the plaintiff’s notice obligation following an attachment. The courts also amended Local Admiralty Rule C.1 to specify that the Rule applies to a summons issued pursuant to Rule C(3)©.

Click Here to see the revisions.