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

Lewis Liman

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Lewis Liman
Image of Lewis Liman

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Tenure

2019 - Present

Years in position

5

Education

Bachelor's

Harvard College, 1983

Graduate

London School of Economics and Political Science, 1984

Law

Yale University Law School, 1987

Personal
Profession
Attorney

Lewis Liman is a judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on May 15, 2018, and confirmed by the United States Senate on December 19, 2019, by a vote of 64-29.[1][2] He received commission on December 31, 2019.[3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Liman was a partner with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in New York, New York, from 2003 to 2019.

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (2018)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

On May 15, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Liman to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.[1] The U.S. Senate confirmed Liman on December 19, 2019, by a vote of 64-29.[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Nomination Tracker
Fedbadgesmall.png
Nominee Information
Name: Lewis Liman
Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Progress
Confirmed 583 days after nomination.
ApprovedANominated: May 15, 2018
ApprovedAABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
Questionnaire: Questionnaire
ApprovedAHearing: August 1, 2018
QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more)
ApprovedAReported: September 13, 2018 (first) / June 20, 2019 (second) 
ApprovedAConfirmed: December 19, 2019
ApprovedAVote: 64-29

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Liman on December 19, 2019, on a vote of 64-29.[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Liman confirmation vote (December 19, 2019)
Party Yea Nay No vote
Electiondot.png Democratic 41 0 4
Ends.png Republican 22 29 2
Grey.png Independent 1 0 1
Total 64 29 7
Change in Senate rules
See also:
Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress
Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
United States federal courts

Liman was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.

On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.[4]

The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[5]

It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.[6] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.


Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Liman's nomination on August 1, 2018. His nomination was reported out of committee on September 13 by a 17-4 vote.[7][8] The committee voted a second time, 15-7, to advance his nomination to the full Senate on June 20, 2019.[9]

Nomination

President Donald Trump (R) nominated Liman to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on May 15, 2018.[1] Liman was nominated to succeed Judge Paul Crotty, who assumed senior status on August 1, 2015.[8]

At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Liman's nomination to the president.[8][10]

Trump announced his intent to renominate Liman on April 8, 2019.[11] The second nomination was officially sent to the Senate on May 21, 2019.[12]

The American Bar Association unanimously rated Liman qualified for the position.[13] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Education

Liman received his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard College in 1983. He obtained a master's degree, with distinction, from the London School of Economics & Political Science in 1984. Liman earned his J.D. from Yale University Law School in 1987. During his legal studies, Liman served as articles editor of the Yale Law Journal and as an editor of the Yale Journal of International Law.[11][14]

Professional career

Awards and associations

Awards

  • 2016: Gould Award for Outstanding Oral Advocacy, Office of the Appellate Defender
  • 2016: Litigation Trailblazers, National Law Journal
  • 1998: Director's Award for Superior Performance of an Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice[14]

Associations

  • 2017-present: American Law Institute
  • 2013-present: Member, New York Legal Assistance Group
  • 2011-2012: Federal Bar Council Foundation
  • 2007-2008: New York Council of Defense Lawyers
  • 2006-present: Legal Aid Society
    • 2013-present: Board of advisors
    • 2006-2012: Board of directors
  • 2006-present: United Jewish Appeal: Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Inc.
  • 2006-2015: Member, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
  • 2001-present: Lawyers Division of Anti-Defamation League of New York
  • 1997-2017: Member, Federal Bar Council
    • 2012-2017: Chair, Public service committee
    • 2012-2017: Vice president
    • 2011-2012: Director
    • 2004-2010: Trustee
  • 2000-present: American Bar Association
  • 1995-present: The Liman Foundation
  • 1995-present: Supreme Court Historical Society
  • 1991-present: Association of the Bar of the City of New York[14]

About the court

Southern District of New York
Second Circuit
SDNY.gif
Judgeships
Posts: 28
Judges: 26
Vacancies: 2
Judges
Chief: Laura Swain
Active judges: Ronnie Abrams, Vernon Broderick, Andrew L. Carter Jr., Jessica Clarke, John Peter Cronan, Paul A. Engelmayer, Katherine Failla, Jesse Furman, Margaret Garnett, Philip M. Halpern, Dale Ho, Kenneth Karas, John Koeltl, Lewis Liman, James Paul Oetken, Edgardo Ramos, Jennifer Rearden, Jennifer Rochon, Nelson S. Roman, Cathy Seibel, Arun Subramanian, Laura Swain, Analisa Torres, Jeannette Vargas, Mary Kay Vyskocil, Gregory Howard Woods

Senior judges:
Richard Berman, Vincent L. Briccetti, Naomi Buchwald, Valerie Caproni, Kevin Castel, Denise Cote, Paul Crotty, George Daniels, Paul Gardephe, Charles Haight, Alvin Hellerstein, Lewis Kaplan, John Keenan, Victor Marrero, Colleen McMahon, Loretta Preska, Jed Rakoff, Lorna Schofield, Louis Stanton, Sidney Stein, Kimba Wood


The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is one of 94 United States district courts. The Southern District is one of the most influential and active federal district courts in the United States, largely because of its jurisdiction over New York's major financial centers. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit based in Lower Manhattan at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Federal Courthouse.

The Southern District of New York has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The court shares geographic jurisdiction over New York City with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which manages Brooklyn, Queens, and Richmond (Staten Island) counties, along with Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island.

The geographic jurisdiction of the Western District of New York consists of the following counties:

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

  • The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
  • The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  • The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.
  • As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.
  • After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.
  • If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
  • If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.
  • The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.
  • If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
  • If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Fourteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Thirteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Eighth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees," May 15, 2018
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Congress.gov, "PN778 — Lewis J. Liman — The Judiciary," accessed December 19, 2019
  3. ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Liman, Lewis Jeffrey," accessed January 9, 2020
  4. ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
  5. ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
  6. ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
  7. ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Results of the Executive Business Meeting," September 13, 2018
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Congress.gov, "PN1960 — Lewis J. Liman — The Judiciary," accessed September 14, 2018
  9. ↑ U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," June 20, 2019
  10. ↑ Under Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, pending nominations are returned to the president if the Senate adjourns sine die or recesses for more than 30 days. Congressional Research Service, "Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure," April 11, 2017
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominations," April 8, 2019
  12. ↑ White House, "Twelve Nominations Sent to the Senate," May 21, 2019
  13. ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article I judicial nominees: 115th Congress," accessed September 14, 2018
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: Lewis Liman," accessed April 9, 2019

Political offices
Preceded by
- 		United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
2019-Present		 Succeeded by
-


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=Lewis_Liman&oldid=10488447"