SDNY ANNOUNCES A SPECIAL SESSION TO COMMEMORATE THE COURT’S 225TH ANNIVERSARY

MEDIA ADVISORY/NOTICE TO THE BAR CONTACT: Edward Friedland, 212-805-0513

Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska has announced that the United States District Court for the Southern District Court (SDNY) will hold a special session on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 to commemorate the first session of the Court held 225 years ago. President George Washington appointed James Duane, who had been a member of the Continental Congress and first mayor of New York City following the evacuation of British forces, as the Court’s first judge. Judge Duane held the first session on the first Tuesday of November, 1789, making it the first Court to convene under the new United States Constitution. For this reason, it is frequently referred to as the “Mother Court.”

The anniversary celebration will continue through 2015 with re-enactments of historic trials, lectures on some of the Court’s most notable jurists, and exhibits featuring art and historic artifacts such as the Silver Oar of the British Vice Admiralty Court for the Province of New York, the symbol of an admiralty court’s authority. A full calendar of events, under the co-chairmanship of District Judges Deborah A. Batts and P. Kevin Castel, will be published later this year.

Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska said of the anniversary commemoration:

“The history of this Court reflects the history of the nation. The Court has been the venue for civil war prize cases, litigation over the sinking of the Titanic and Lusitania, and the attack on the World Trade Center. It has seen criminal prosecutions from the Tea Pot Dome scandal to Watergate. Today its docket includes white collar and terrorism prosecutions. We are honored and delighted to mark this Court’s 225th year of continued service.”

Currently there are 28 active and 22 senior District Judges on the Southern District bench, in addition to 15 Magistrate Judges and 9 bankruptcy judges.

AAJC Media Advisory: Advancing Justice and Asian American Federation to Present New Data on Asian American Community in the Northeast

Please go here if you would like to register
MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
November 18, 2013
CONTACT: Kimberly Goulart

Presentation of findings will discuss population growth, economic diversity, and implications for policy makers
WHAT:
Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the Asian American Federation will present key findings from the New York section of a new report that
documents the social and economic diversity of two of the fastest-growing racial groups in the region:
A Community of Contrasts: Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the Northeast, 2013 Members of the media are asked to RSVP to Dana Malone at [email protected]

WHEN:
Thursday, November 21, 2013
12:00pm – 2:00pm  

WHERE:
Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021

WHY:
The AANHPI community is experiencing explosive growth in the Northeast, which is fueling a host of policy concerns including economic access and language barriers. At the same time the growth is leading to unprecedented levels of civic participation, making the AANHPI community a key electorate in metropolitan New York. A Community of Contrasts profiles this incredibly diverse population.

ABOUT:
A Community of Contrasts: Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the Northeast, 2013 compiles the latest data on growing Asian American and NHPI communities in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. This is the fifth in a series of reports that strive to make disaggregated data more accessible in order to promote better understanding of our communities, and to help policy makers, government agencies, service providers, and other stakeholders better respond to and serve the needs of Asian American and NHPI communities.
The following sponsors made the report and launch event possible: the
Asia Society and Museum, the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, the Chung Ying Tang Foundation, and Bank of America.
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Asian Americans Advancing Justice
 (www.advancingjustice.org) works to promote a fair and equitable society for all by working for civil and human rights and empowering Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and other underserved communities. We comprise Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC (www.advancingjustice-aajc.org), Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Asian Law Caucus (www.advancingjustice-alc.org), Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago (www.advancingjustice-chicago.org), Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Los Angeles (www.advancingjustice-la.org).