Gerard Lynch

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Gerard Lynch
Image of Gerard Lynch

Nonpartisan

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

2016 - Present

Years in position

8

Prior offices
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit

Bildung

Bachelor's

Columbia College, 1972

Law

Columbia Law School, 1975


Gerard E. Lynch is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. He joined the court in 2009. Prior to his confirmation, Lynch served as a judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He joined the district court in 2000 after an appointment from Bill Clinton. At the time of his appointment, he was a private practice attorney in New York City. He assumed senior status on September 5, 2016.[1]

Early life and education

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1951, Judge Lynch earned his B.A. from Columbia College in 1972 and his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law in 1975.[1]

Professional career

Judicial nominations and appointments

Second Circuit Court of Appeals

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Gerard Lynch
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
Progress
Confirmed 168 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: April 2, 2009
ApprovedAABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: May 12, 2009
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: June 11, 2009 
ApprovedAConfirmed: September 17, 2009
ApprovedAVote: 94-3

Lynch was nominated by President Barack Obama on April 2, 2009, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit made vacant when Chester Straub was elevated to senior status.[2] Lynch was rated Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination by the American Bar Association.[3] Hearings on Lynch's nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on May 12, 2009, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on June 11, 2009. Lynch was confirmed on a 94-3 vote of the U.S. Senate on September 17, 2009, and he received his commission on September 18, 2009. He assumed senior status on the court on September 5, 2016.[1][4]

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Lynch was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by Bill Clinton on February 28, 2000, to a seat vacated by John Sprizzo upon Sprizzo's retirement from service. The American Bar Association rated Lynch Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination.[5] Hearings on Lynch's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 27, 2000, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on May 11, 2000. Lynch was confirmed by a 63-36 vote of the U.S. Senate on May 24, 2000, and he received his commission on May 25, 2000. He resigned his seat on the bench on September 21, 2009, upon his elevation to the Second Circuit. He was succeeded on the court by Judge Paul A. Engelmayer[1][6][7]

Noteworthy cases

Apple's challenge to e-book antitrust monitor (2014)
See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit (U.S. v. Apple, Inc., 1:12-cv-02826-DLC)

On January 21, 2014, Judge Raymond Joseph Lohier, Jr. granted a temporary stay as to the work performed by Michael Bromwich, the court-appointed monitor in the Apple e-book antitrust case. The stay was to remain in effect until a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit was available to decide whether Bromwich should be removed as monitor. In the underlying case, Judge Denise Cote found in July 2013 that Apple conspired with online publishers to fix the prices of e-books. She appointed Bromwich to oversee and monitor the company’s compliance with federal antitrust laws in October 2013. In an earlier motion filed by Apple, the company claimed that Cote’s appointment of a monitor in a civil antitrust case was unprecedented. Attorneys for Apple contested Bromwich’s hourly fee of $1,100, alleging that because of the “extremely broad powers” Cote conferred upon him, he was able to overreach in his investigations such that they bordered on interfering with the company’s daily operations. Cote denied Apple’s request to remove Bromwich as monitor just days before Lohier issued the temporary stay. In his ruling, Lohier noted that Apple’s request for Bromwich’s permanent ouster would be heard “as soon as possible” by an appellate panel. Lohier's order is available here.[8][9]


Update

On February 10, 2014, a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit composed of Judge Gerard Lynch and Senior Judges Pierre Leval and Guido Calabresi rejected Judge Lohier's stay and restored Michael Bromwich's ability to perform his duties as Apple's e-book antitrust monitor, with the understanding that Apple may pursue a further appeal to remove Bromwich from his position. In the order, the judicial panel noted that according to the government, Judge Cote's initial order was to be "interpreted narrowly." As a result, Lynch, Leval, and Calabresi agreed that as antitrust monitor, Bromwich was only to "assess the appropriateness of the compliance programs adopted by Apple and the means used to communicate those those programs to its personnel." The Second Circuit panel went on to limit Bromwich's authority, empowering him to "demand only documents relevant to his authorized responsibility . . . and to interview Apple directors, officers and employees only on subjects relevant to that responsibility."[10][11][12]

NY City smoking deterrent posters (2012)
See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit (94th St. Grocery v. N.Y.C. Bd. of Health, 11-91-cv)

On July 10, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit affirmed the decision of Judge Jed Rakoff, ruling that federal regulations preempted a city ordinance that required cigarette distributors to post gruesome photos of cigarette-related illnesses at the point of sale. The court held that the 1965 Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act preempted the local law, thus rendering the local ordinance unconstitutional. Philip Morris USA alongside two other manufacturers, two major retailers, and two trade unions challenged this city law in federal court. Despite admitting the risks of smoking, Rakoff agreed with the cigarette producers, stating in his opinion, "Even merchants of morbidity are entitled to the full protection of the law." The Second Circuit concurred, though they believed that the city could launch its own anti-smoking campaign using the images, but could not require retailers to do it. The case was heard by Judges Peter Hall, Gerard Lynch, and Denny Chin, with Chin writing the opinion of the court.[13][14]

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, New York, violated a constitutional ban against favoring one religion over another, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in what was deemed a significant test to the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.[15] 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.[16]

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 laypeople 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.[15][16]

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, which ruled that "the town's process for selecting prayer-givers virtually ensured a Christian viewpoint.”[15][17]

The case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States in 2013.[18]

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."[19]

Hiram Monserrate case (2010)
See also: United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit (Monserrate v. New York State Senate, 599 F. 3d 148)

District Judge William Pauley denied a request by former New York State Senator Hiram Monserrate to stop a decision made by the New York Senate to expel him on February 9, 2010.[20]

Monserrate was expelled after being convicted of domestic violence towards his girlfriend, which is considered a misdemeanor.[20]

The case was appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, but the appellate court judges, Gerard Lynch, Dennis Jacobs, and Jane Restani, ruled that the district court "did not abuse its discretion in determining that the Monserrate Appellants failed to establish a likelihood of success on the merits of any of the claims they press on appeal. We thus need not reach any of the other arguments advanced by the parties. For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district court's denial of the preliminary injunction."[21]

Lil' Kim perjury trial (2006)
See also: Southern District of New York

Lynch presided over the perjury trial of rap artist Lil' Kim in 2005. He sentenced her to a year and a day in jail.[22]

See also

External links


Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Federal Judicial Center, "Biographical directory of federal judges," accessed June 6, 2016
  2. ↑ The White House, "President Obama announces Judge Gerard Lynch for United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit," April 2, 2009
  3. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 111th Congress," accessed June 6, 2016
  4. ↑ United States Congress, "PN 263 - Gerard E. Lynch - The Judiciary," accessed June 6, 2016
  5. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 106th Congress," accessed June 6, 2016
  6. ↑ United States Congress, PN 866 - Gerard E. Lynch - The Judiciary," accessed June 6, 2016
  7. ↑ United States Congress, "PN 157 - Paul A. Engelmayer - The Judiciary," accessed June 6, 2016
  8. ↑ New York Times, "Apple Wins Temporary Stay on Court Monitor," January 21, 2014
  9. ↑ New York Times, "Secretive Apple Squirms in Gaze of U.S. Monitor," January 13, 2014
  10. ↑ Star Tribune, "Federal appeals panel in NY restores Apple monitor but spells out limits to his authority," February 10, 2014
  11. ↑ Reuters, "Apple loses latest bid to block e-books antitrust monitor," February 10, 2014
  12. ↑ New York Times, "Court Rejects Apple Appeal in E-Book Case," February 10, 2014
  13. ↑ MyFoxDC, "New York can't scare smokers with graphic images, court ruled," July 12, 2012
  14. ↑ 94th St. Grocery v. N.Y.C. Bd. of Health, 685 F.3d 174 (2d Cir. 2012)
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Associated Press, "Court rules NY town's prayer violated Constitution," May 18, 2012
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Fox News, "Court rules NY town's prayer violated Constitution," May 17, 2012
  17. ↑ 13 WHAM, "Federal Appellate Court Overturns Ruling on Prayer at Greece Town Board Meetings," May 17, 2012
  18. ↑ SCOTUSblog.com, "Town of Greece v. Galloway," accessed August 15, 2013
  19. ↑ SCOTUSblog, "Town of Greece v. Galloway," accessed January 31, 2019
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 New York Daily News, "Denied! Federal judge rejected Sen. Hiram Monserrate's plea to stay in office," February 19, 2010
  21. ↑ Monserrate v. New York State Senate, 599 F. 3d 148 (2d Cir. 2010)
  22. ↑ ABC News, "Rapper Lil' Kim Gets 366 Days for Perjury," February 14, 2006
Political offices
Preceded by:
John Sprizzo 		Southern District of New York
2000–2009 		Succeeded by:
Paul A. Engelmayer
Preceded by:
Chester Straub 		Second Circuit
2009–2016
Seat #8 		Succeeded by:
NA





New York courts

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State resources:

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