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Avern Cohn
Avern Levin Cohn was an Article III federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He joined the court in 1979 after being nominated by President Jimmy Carter. He assumed senior status in 2019. Cohn passed away on February 4, 2022.[1]
Cohn was a member of the National Advisory Council of the American Judicature Society.[2]
Early life
A native of Detroit, Cohn graduated from the University of Michigan in 1943 with his undergraduate degree. Cohn returned to the University of Michigan to complete his J.D. in 1949.[3]
Military service
Cohn joined the United States Army in 1943 and served until 1946.[3]
Professional career
- 1979-2019: Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
- 1961-1979: Attorney, Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn
- 1949-1961: Attorney, Law Office of Irwin I. Cohn[4]
Judicial career
Eastern District of Michigan
On the recommendation of U.S. Senator Donald Riegle, Jr., Cohn was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on May 17, 1979, to a new seat created by 92 Stat. 1629 approved by both houses of Congress. Cohn was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 25, 1979 on a senate vote and received commission on September 26, 1979. Cohn assumed senior status on October 9, 1999.[3] Cohn was succeeded in this position by David M. Lawson.
Noteworthy cases
Oversight of Detroit police department ends (2014)
Since 2003, the U.S. Department of Justice has watched over the Detroit Police Department, which had gained a reputation of illegal activity. The monitoring began after a two-and-a-half year investigation conducted by the Justice Department. The department was accused of misconduct, which included using excessive force and making illegal arrests. On August 25, 2014, however, United States District Court Judge Avern Cohn ruled that oversight could be scaled back as the department had made the necessary policy changes and provided appropriate training to officers.
The department will still be monitored for internal procedures, and monitors will provide “technical assistance.”[5] The department will be monitored in this way for another 18 months.
Articles:
Delphi case (2011)
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (SEC v. J.T. BATTENBERG, III, No. 06-14891)
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (SEC v. J.T. BATTENBERG, III, No. 06-14891)
Judge Cohn presided over the case of former Delphi CFO J.T. Battenberg who was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cohn dismissed a motion by Battenberg's legal team to dismiss the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that Bettenberg engaged in negligent activity regarding the company's financial statements. The judge described Battenberg's failure to observe the company's financial statements as "reckless".[6] On October 31, 2011, Cohn issued a judgment against Battenberg totaling $215,000 in disgorgement and penalties.[7]
Teamsters free speech case (2010)
On January 15, 2010, Judge Cohn ordered that members of the Teamsters Union and its affiliates can handbill people walking in and out of the Cobo Center, where the 2010 North American International Auto Show is held. This comes after the Detroit Police Department told union representatives that they could not hand out the literature. Union representatives won the case after the judge found that the Detroit Police violated the federal Ku Klux Klan Act.[8]
Samuel Riddle case (2010)
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (UNITED STATES v. SAMUEL RIDDLE JR., No. 09-20025)
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (UNITED STATES v. SAMUEL RIDDLE JR., No. 09-20025)
Judge Cohn presided over the trial of noted Detroit political consultant Sam Riddle. Riddle was charged with hand delivering a bribe to Detroit Councilwoman Monica Conyers, the wife of House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, to vote in favor of a $1.2 million dollar sludge disposal contract to Synagro. The trial was scheduled to begin on January 11, 2010, with jury selection.[9]
On January 17, 2010, Riddle's legal team asked the court to dismiss the mail fraud charges. Riddle's attorneys believed federal prosecutors vaguely applied the law when seeking to charge him on mail fraud.[10] The request by Riddle's legal team to dismiss mail fraud charges was denied on January 19, 2010. Despite the fact the attorneys claimed there was precedent, Cohn found there was not enough evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to dismiss the charges.[11]
The trial's opening statements began on January 25, 2010, for the first of two trials that Riddle faced.[12] On February 17, 2010, Judge Cohn declared a mistrial in the first trial. The ruling came after jurors were deadlocked on a verdict after six days of deliberations. When the mistrial was declared, the judge told the media that jurors had irreconcilable differences. Cohn said, "the American system of justice worked, and we proceed to round two."[13]
On February 22, 2010, Judge Cohn granted the request of attorneys John Minock and Edward Winslow to stop representing Riddle. They stated that there was a breakdown in the client-attorney relationship. Judge Cohn set a hearing for March 8, 2010, to determine who will be Riddle's legal counsel; Riddle had until March 1, 2010, by 5:00 PM-EST to inform the judge if his current legal team was retained. Riddle did not notify the judge of his legal representation by the deadline.[14] The judge allowed Riddle to be represented by Richard Covertino on April 5, 2010, despite the fact that Covertino was representing state Representative Mary Waters in a similar case in which Riddle was a co-defendant. The judge found that there was no apparent conflict of interest and allowed the attorney to proceed.[15]
In October of 2010, Riddle was found guilty and sentenced to 38 months in prison for federal corruption charges.[16]
Monica Conyers case (2010)
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MONICA CONYERS, No. 09-20025)
- See also: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. MONICA CONYERS, No. 09-20025)
Judge Cohn presided over the trial of Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, the wife of House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers. Conyerspleadedguilty in June 2009 of accepting bribes in connection with the city of Detroit awarding a contract to Synagro, a Texas based company. Councilwoman Conyers voted to support the deal.[17] The Eastern District of Michigan U.S. Attorney's office issued a sentencing memo on March 8, 2010, saying that Conyers should serve a lengthy prison sentence.[17] Judge Cohn sentenced Conyers to three years in prison on March 10, 2010.
Although prosecutors recommended a longer sentence, Conyers attorneys were able to convince the judge that she did not repeatedly extort money with other businesses seeking to do business with the city of Detroit. After the sentence was handed down, Conyers yelled to the judge she would appeal the sentence to the Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. John Conyers was not in attendance during the sentencing.[18]
On March 17, 2010, Conyers was granted a court-appointed attorney for her appeal to the Sixth Circuit. Despite the fact that Monica's husband, John, a U.S. congressman who earns $174,000 a year salary, she signed an affidavit claiming that she does not have the money for private counsel. Conyers was assigned an attorney from Ann Arbor, Mich., to handle her appeal.[19] On April 15, 2010, attorneys for Conyers filed an appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Judge Cohn's decision denying the withdraw of her guilty plea.[20] Conyers later dropped the appeal.[21]
Awards and associations
- 1975-1979: Detroit Board of Police Commissioners
- 1979: Chairman
- 1972-1975: Michigan Civil Rights Commission
- 1974-1975: Chairman
- 1963: Social Welfare Commission of Michigan[4]
See also
External links
- Detroit Free Press, "Judge Avern Cohn to have portrait presented after years of resistance," May 19, 2011
- Cohn's Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
Footnotes
- ↑ Michigan Radio, "Longtime Detroit federal court Judge Avern Cohn dies," February 5, 2022
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "National Advisory Council Members"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 USDC, MIED, "Judge Cohn Biography"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Federal Judicial Center, "Cohn's Biography"
- ↑ WXYZ, "Federal judge ends court-ordered oversight of Detroit Police Department," August 25, 2014
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Former Delphi Chief Was ‘Reckless,’ Judge Says," February 3, 2010
- ↑ United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, "SEC v. J.T. BATTENBERG, III," accessed August 23, 2013
- ↑ PR News Wire, "Federal Judge Rules Teamsters May Exercise Free Speech Rights at the Auto Show in Detroit," January 16, 2010
- ↑ Detroit Free-Press, "Riddle can't say he's a fall guy, judge rules," February 6, 2010
- ↑ Detroit News, "Riddle's attorneys ask judge to dismiss mail fraud charge," January 18, 2010
- ↑ Detroit News, "Judge denies Riddle's bid to drop criminal charge," January 19, 2010
- ↑ Detroit News, "Riddle's first trial in bribery case to start," January 25, 2010
- ↑ Crain's Detroit Business, "Judge declares mistrial in Sam Riddle corruption case," February 17, 2010
- ↑ Detroit News, "Judge to hold hearing on attorney for Riddle," March 1, 2010
- ↑ Detroit Free-Press, "Judge: Covertino can represent Riddle," April 5, 2010
- ↑ Examiner, "Sam Riddle sentenced to 37 months in prison in federal corruption case," October 8, 2010
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Detroit News, "Conyers should serve 'substantial' prison time, prosecutors say," March 8, 2010
- ↑ Michigan Radio, "Monica Conyers Gets 3-Year Prison Sentence," March 10, 2010
- ↑ FOX News "Conyers get court-appointed attorney for Appeal," March 17, 2010
- ↑ Detroit Free-Press, "Conyers keeps up fight to withdraw guilty plea," April 15, 2010
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Monica Conyers moves from Camp Cupcake to jail in Roanoke, Va.," April 18, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: NA-New Seat |
Eastern District of Michigan 1979–1999 Seat #12 |
Succeeded by: David M. Lawson
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 |
Ballantine • Bownes • Boyle • Bua • Carr • Clark • Cowan • Daly • Filippine • Higginbotham • Hoeveler • Hug • Johnstone • Kane • Keith • Leval • Logan • MacLaughlin • McKay • Melton • Merritt • Murphy • Nickerson • Oberdorfer • Roszkowski • Roy • Rubin • Sifton • Tang • Vance • Veron | ||
| 1978 |
Arnold • Baker • Boyle • Burns • Campos • Claiborne • Collins • Cook • Devine • Diamond • Duplantier • Edenfield • Friedman • Gonzalez • Greene • Jenkins • Lowe • Mazzone • McMillian • O'Brien • Pfaelzer • Phillips • Pollak • Sand • Shapiro • Simmons • Smith • Sweet • Tanner • Wiseman • Ziegler | ||
| 1979 |
Ackerman • Alarcon • Anderson • Arceneaux • Arnold • Aspen • Beatty • Beer • Belew • Bertelsman • Bilby • N. Black • S. Black • Bloch • Bowen • Brett • Brooks • Brown • Buchmeyer • Bunton • Burciaga • Cabranes • Carr • Carrigan • Castagna • Cire • Clark • Cohn • Conaboy • Cordova • Crabb • Cudahy • Davis • DeAnda • Debevoise • Edwards • Eginton • Ellison • Enslen • O. Evans • T. Evans • Farris • Ferguson • Fletcher • Frye • Garcia • Garza • B. Gibson • H. Gibson • Gierbolini-Ortiz • Giles • Gilliam • Green • Hall • Hastings • Hatchett • Hatfield • Hatter • Hawkins • Henderson • Higby • Hillman • Houck • Howard • Hudspeth • Hungate • F. Johnson • S. Johnson • N. Jones • S. Jones • Karlton • Kazen • Kearse • Keeton • Kehoe • Kennedy • Kidd • King • Kravitch • Loughlin • Martin • McCurn • McDonald • McNaught • McNichols • Mikva • Mitchell • Moran • Murnaghan • Murphy • D. Nelson • D.W. Nelson • Newblatt • Newman • Overton • Paine • Panner • J. Parker • R. Parker • Penn • Perez-Gimenez • Perry • Politz • Poole • Porter • Pregerson • Price • Rambo • Ramirez • Reavley • Redden • E. Reed • S. Reed • Reinhardt • Renner • Robinson • Rothstein • Sachs • Saffels • Sanders • Sarokin • Schroeder • Schwartz • Seay • Senter • Seymour • Shannon • Shaw • Shoob • Skopil • Sloviter • Sofaer • Spellman • Sprouse • Staker • Tate • Taylor • Thompson • Tidwell • Unthank • Vietor • Vining • Wald • Ward • Weinshienk • West • Wicker • Williams • Winder • Woods • Wright • Zobel | ||
| 1980 |
Aguilar • Aldrich • Anderson • Boochever • Breyer • Britt • Cahill • Canby • Carroll • Cerezo • Clemon • S. Ervin • R. Erwin • Getzendanner • Gilmore • Ginsburg • Haltom • Hardy • Henderson • Hobbs • Holschuh • Horton • Howard • Johnson • Keep • Kelly • Kenyon • Kocoras • Marquez • Marshall • Michael • Nixon • Norris • Patel • Polozola • Propst • Quackenbush • Ramsey • Rice • Shadur • Spiegel • Tashima • Thompson • Vela • White • Williams | ||
| 1981 | |||
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Michigan
State courts:
Michigan Supreme Court • Michigan Court of Appeals • Michigan Circuit Court • Michigan Court of Claims • Michigan District Courts • Michigan Municipal Courts • Michigan Probate Courts
State resources:
Courts in Michigan • Michigan judicial elections • Judicial selection in Michigan
