Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Complaint alleges that federal judge is too old to hear cases
October 24, 2011
New York, New York: On October 7, Robert Patterson, an 88-year-old federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, dismissed a lawsuit filed by Martin Stoner against Young Concert Artists.[1]
Young Concert Artists is a not-for-profit organization that identifies young musical talent partly through sponsoring competitions. Stoner, who was 60 in 2011, alleged in his unsuccessful lawsuit that the Young Concert Artists engaged in age discrimination when it did not allow Stoner to participate in a competition because of his age.
The case was assigned to Judge Patterson. When Patterson dismissed the case on October 7, he cited fatal irregularities in the brief. After Patterson dismissed Stoner's lawsuit, Stoner struck back by filing a complaint with the federal courts saying that Patterson should not have been allowed to hear the age discrimination lawsuit because Patterson is too old to hear cases.
Patterson's colleagues say that it is false that Patterson is too old to hear cases. Fellow judge Loretta Preska noted that Patterson had recently stepped into a case mid-trial when another judge became ill, absorbing a 2,282-page legal transcript in a single weekend.[1]
See also
Footnotes
| |||||
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
