Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.

Richard Berman

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Richard Berman
Image of Richard Berman

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (senior status)
Tenure

2011 - Present

Years in position

14

Prior offices
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Education

Bachelor's

Cornell University, 1964

Graduate

Fordham University, 1996

Law

New York University School of Law, 1967

Personal
Birthplace
New York, N.Y.


Richard M. Berman is a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He joined the court in 1998 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton.

Early life and education

A native of New York, New York, Berman graduated from Cornell University with his bachelor's degree in 1964, from the New York University School of Law with his J.D. in 1967, and from Fordham University with his master's degree in 1996.[1]

Professional career

  • 2011 - Present: Senior judge
  • 1998-2011: Judge
  • 1995-1998: Judge, Queens County Family Court, New York
  • 1986-1995: Private practice, New York, New York
  • 1978-1986: General counsel and executive vice president, Warner Cable Corporation
  • 1977-1978: Executive director, New York State Alliance to Save Energy Inc.
  • 1974-1977: Executive assistant, U.S. Sen. Jacob Javits, (R-N.Y.)
  • 1970-1974: Private practice, New York[1]

Judicial career

Southern District of New York

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Richard M. Berman
Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Progress
Confirmed 153 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: May 21, 1998
ApprovedAABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
Questionnaire:
ApprovedAHearing: July 30, 1998
QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: September 17, 1998 
ApprovedAConfirmed: October 21, 1998
ApprovedAVote: Voice vote

Berman was nominated by President Bill Clinton on May 21, 1998, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by Kevin Duffy. The American Bar Association rated Berman Unanimously Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Berman's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 30, 1998, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on September 17, 1998. Berman was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on October 21, 1998, and he received his commission the next day. Berman elected to take senior status beginning on September 11, 2011. He was succeeded in this position by Nelson S. Roman.[1][2][3]

Noteworthy cases

Deflategate and Tom Brady's suspension (2015)
See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (National Football League v. National Football League Players Association, 15 Civ. 5916 (RMB)(JCF))

On September 3, 2015, Berman ruled in favor of Tom Brady, the New England Patriots' quarterback, overturning a four-game suspension imposed by National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell pursuant to an investigation that found footballs used by the Patriots in the 2015 NFL Playoffs were under-inflated. The judge found that the investigatory materials used by the NFL as evidence in support of the suspension were not shared either with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) or with Brady. Berman ruled the withholding of these materials hindered Brady's ability to appeal. The suspension was lifted, allowing Tom Brady to begin playing immediately. Berman's decision was overturned by a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. A petition for an en banc rehearing was denied and Brady served the suspension in 2016.[4][5]

Alleged Al-Qaida operative case (2010-2012)
See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. AAFIA SIDDIQUI, No. 10-3916-cr)

Berman was the presiding judge in the trial of alleged Al-Qaida operative Aafia Siddiqui. Siddiqui was charged with shooting at American soldiers and FBI agents after her capture in Afghanistan.[6] The judge ruled on July 29, 2009, that Siddiqui was competent to stand trial.[6] During her trial, which began on the January 19, 2010, Siddiqui's behavior in the courtroom resulted in Siddiqui being removed from the courtroom.[7][8] On January 26, 2010, lawyers for Siddiqui petitioned Judge Berman to prevent her testimony alleging diminished capacity; the request was denied. Siddiqui was convicted and on September 23, 2010, she was sentenced to 86 years in prison.[9] Siddiqui's case was appealed on February 10, 2012, to the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, which affirmed the lower court's ruling on November 5, 2012.[10]

Cameron Douglas case (2010)
See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. CAMERON DOUGLAS, No. 11-5384-cr)

Berman presided in the case of Cameron Douglas, the son of movie superstar Michael Douglas. Douglas pleaded guilty to charges of dealing methamphetamine and cocaine in a New York City hotel.[11]

The judge sentenced Douglas to 52 months in federal prison on April 20, 2010, including an eight-month credit for time already served in jail. Douglas appealed to the Second Circuit, but the appeal was denied on April 15, 2013.[12][13]

Craigslist shooting (2009)
See also: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (CALVIN GIBSON v. CRAIGSLIST, 1:08-CV-7735)

Berman dismissed a petition alleging the online website Craigslist was to blame for a June 2008 shooting by Jesus Ortiz, a schizophrenic man, who shot his neighbor, Calvin Gibson, a boutique owner. Gibson survived the shooting and sued Craigslist for $10 million alleging that the site was "either unable or unwilling to allocate the necessary resources to monitor, police, maintain and properly supervise the goods and services" sold there, including the sale of a gun to Ortiz.[14]

Berman dismissed the case, saying that Craigslist had immunity under the Communications Decency Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. §230, which says that "no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as a publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider."[14]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge Richard M. Berman," accessed July 10, 2017
  2. ↑ United States Congress, "PN 1112 — Richard M. Berman — The Judiciary," accessed July 10, 2017
  3. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 105th Congress," accessed July 10, 2017
  4. ↑ USA Today, "Federal judge overturns Patriots QB Tom Brady's Deflategate suspension," September 3, 2015
  5. ↑ [https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2016/10/03/tom-brady-deflategate-suspension-over/91475182/ USA Today, "Tom Brady back to business with Deflategate suspension over," October 3, 2016
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 New York Post, "JUDGE: TERROR SUSPECT COMPETENT TO STAND TRIAL," July 29, 2009
  7. ↑ JURIST, "US trial begins for Pakistani woman alleged to be al Qaeda agent," January 20, 2010
  8. ↑ New York Daily News, "Defense team wants 'Lady al Qaeda' Aafia Siddiqui barred from taking stand," January 26, 2010
  9. ↑ FBI, "Aafia Siddiqui Sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court to 86 Years for Attempting to Murder U.S. Nationals in Afghanistan and Six Additional Crimes," September 26, 2010
  10. ↑ uscourts.gov, "United States of America v. Aafia Siddiqui," November 5, 2012
  11. ↑ New York Daily News, "Cameron Douglas, son of actor Michael Douglas, to remain behind bars until sentencing in April," February 25, 2010
  12. ↑ New York Daily News, "Cameron Douglas, son of actor Michael Douglas, gets 60 months in jail for drug rap; faced 10 years," April 20, 2010
  13. ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, United States of America v. Cameron Douglas, April 15, 2013
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 OHMYGOV.com, "Federal judge strikes down lawsuit against Craigslist," accessed July 27, 2015
Political offices
Preceded by:
Kevin Duffy 		Southern District of New York
1998–2011 		Succeeded by:
Nelson S. Roman



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=Richard_Berman&oldid=9819331"