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William Skretny
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2015 - Present
10
William M. Skretny is a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. He joined the court in 1990 after being nominated by President George H.W. Bush. From 2010 to 2015, Skretny served as the district court's chief judge.
Early life and education
A native of Buffalo, New York, Skretny graduated from Canisius College with his bachelor's degree in 1966. from Howard University School of Law with his J.D. in 1969, and from Northwestern University School of Law with his LL.M. in 1972.[1]
Professional career
- 2015 - Present: Senior judge
- 2010-2015: Chief judge
- 1990-2015: Judge
- 1988-1990: Private practice, Buffalo, N.Y.
- 1983-1988: First deputy district attorney, Erie County, New York
- 1981-1983: Private practice, Buffalo, N.Y.
- 1973-1981: Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of New York
- 1975-1981: First assistant U.S. attorney
- 1980: Staff attorney, Office of special prosecutor, U.S. Department of Justice
- 1979: Special counsel, U.S. Attorney General's Advocacy Institute
- 1971-1973: Assistant U.S. attorney, Northern District of Illinois[1]
Judicial career
Western District of New York
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: William M. Skretny |
| Court: United States District Court for the Western District of New York |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 53 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: June 12, 1990
|
| ABA Rating: Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Not Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: |
| Hearing: July 19, 1990
|
| QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: July 26, 1990
|
| Confirmed: August 4, 1990
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| Vote: Unanimous consent
|
Skretny was nominated by President George H.W. Bush on June 12, 1990, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of New York vacated by John Curtin. The American Bar Association rated Skretny Substantial Majority Qualified, Minority Not Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Skretny's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 19, 1990, and his nomination was reported by then-U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) on July 26, 1990. Skretny was confirmed by the unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate on August 4, 1990, and he received his commission on August 7, 1990. From 2010 to 2015, Skretny served as the chief judge of the district court. He elected to take senior status beginning on March 8, 2015.[1][2][3]
Noteworthy cases
Ex-Bills employee's age discrimination claims must be arbitrated (2014)
- See also: United States District Court for the Western District of New York (Hojnowski v. Buffalo Bills, Inc., 1:13-cv-00388-WMS)
- See also: United States District Court for the Western District of New York (Hojnowski v. Buffalo Bills, Inc., 1:13-cv-00388-WMS)
On February 4, 2014, Chief Judge Skretny ruled that Dave Hojnowski, the former equipment manager for the Buffalo Bills, must take his age discrimination claims to an arbitrator. In the underlying case, Hojnowski, who had worked for the Bills for 35 years, filed suit against the team in April 2013, alleging he'd been improperly fired. Hojnowski alleged that adverse action was taken on his employment after his wife requested information about health insurance benefits her husband would qualify for after turning 55. He claimed he lost his job about one week later. The Bills, on the other hand, said Hojnowski retired, and filed a motion to dismiss the suit. Skretny granted that motion, and in his ruling, noted that Hojnowski's team contract with the Bills required that all legal disputes be arbitrated.[4]
New York gun control case (2013)
On December 31, 2013, Chief Judge Skretny was the presiding judge in a suit that was brought in response to the New York SAFE Act. Skretny struck down the law's seven-round magazine limit and upheld the ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines.[5] In his ruling, Skretny wrote:
| “ | Drawing from post-Heller rulings that have begun to settle the vast terra incognita left by the Supreme Court this Court finds that the challenged provisions of the SAFE Act -- including the Act's definition and regulation of assault weapons and its ban on large-capacity magazines -- further the state's important interest in public safety, and do not impermissibly infringe on Plaintiffs' Second Amendment rights. But, the seven-round limit fails the relevant test because the purported link between the ban and the State's interest is tenuous, strained and unsupported in the record.[6] | ” |
See also
- United States District Court for the Western District of New York
- United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge William M. Skretny," accessed July 3, 2017
- ↑ United States Congress, "PN 1344 — William M. Skretny — The Judiciary," accessed July 3, 2017
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 101st Congress," accessed July 3, 2017
- ↑ Buffalo News, "Judge dismissed suit by ex-Bills employee claiming age discrimination," February 4, 2014
- ↑ WHEC.com, "Judge finds Safe Act constitutional, rejects magazine restrictions," December 31, 2013
- ↑ WHEC.com, "New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc. v. Andrew M. Cuomo," December 31, 2013
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: John Curtin |
Western District of New York 1990–2015 |
Succeeded by: John Sinatra
|
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 |
Barksdale • Bonner • Buckwalter • Cyr • Fernandez • Garbis • Harmon • Lee • Lindberg • Lodge • Nelson • Nottingham • Plager • Rosen • Rymer • Smith • Spatt • Thomas • VanBebber • J. Walker • V. Walker • Wiener • Wright | ||
| 1990 |
Alito • Amon • Birch • Boudin • Cleland • Clevenger • Dubina • Hamilton • Henderson • Hood • Hornby • Jones • Kent • Levi • Loken • Lourie • Martin • McBryde • McClure • McKenna • McLaughlin • McNamee • Moreno • Mullen • Nelson • Nickerson • Niemeyer • Norton • Parker • Pickering • Rader • Rainey • Randolph • Shanstrom • Shedd • Shubb • Singleton • Skretny • Souter • Sparr • Stahl • Stamp • Suhrheinrich • Taylor • Vollmer • Ware • Wilson | ||
| 1991 |
Albritton • Andersen • Armstrong • Arnold • Bartle • Bassler • Batchelder • Beckwith • Belot • Benson • Blackburn • Bramlette • Brody • Brody • Burrell • Carnes • Caulfield • Cauthron • Clement • Collier • Conway • Cooper • Dalzell • DeMent • DeMoss • Doherty • Echols • Edmunds • Faber • Freeh • Gaitan • Garza • Graham • Haik • Hamilton • Hansen • Hendren • Herlong • Highsmith • Hogan • Huff • Hurley • Irenas • Johnson • Joyner • Kelly • Kleinfeld • Legg • Leonard • Lewis • Longstaff • Lungstrum • Luttig • Matia • McCalla • McDade • McKeague • McKelvie • Means • Merryday • Moore • Morgan • Nielsen • Nimmons • Osteen Sr. • Padova • Payne • Reinhard • Robinson • Robreno • Roll • Roth • Schlesinger • Scullin • Siler • Solis • Sotomayor • Sparks • Stohr • Thomas • Traxler • Trimble • Ungaro • Van Sickle • Wanger • Werlein • Whyte • Yohn | ||
| 1992 |
Baird • Barbadoro • Black • Boudin • Carnes • Covello • DiClerico • Gilbert • Gonzalez • Gorton • Hansen • Heyburn • Jackson • Jacobs • Keeley • Kendall • Kopf • Kyle • Lewis • McAuliffe • McLaughlin • Melloy • Preska • Quist • Randa • Rosenthal • Rovner • Schall • Sedwick • Simandle • Stahl • Vratil • Williams | ||
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
