thumb|The Manhattan seat is located at the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse at 40 Centre Street.
The
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in
case citations,
S.D.N.Y.) is a
federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (except for
patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the
Tucker Act, which are appealed to the
Federal Circuit).
Its jurisdiction comprises the following counties:
New York (Manhattan),
Bronx,
Westchester,
Putnam,
Rockland,
Orange,
Dutchess, and
Sullivan. The
United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is
Preet Bharara, a graduate of
Columbia University School of Law. Courthouses are located in
Manhattan and
White Plains.
Jurisdiction
The court shares geographic jurisdiction over
New York City with the
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which manages
Kings (Brooklyn),
Queens, and
Richmond (Staten Island) counties, along with
Nassau and
Suffolk on
Long Island.
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. According to
Louis Freeh, the U.S. Attorneys for the S.D.N.Y. have traditionally exhibited such an aggressive prosecution style that there is a joke around the
U.S. Department of Justice that S.D.N.Y. stands for the "
Sovereign District of New York."
History
The
United States District Court for the District of New York was one of the original 13 courts established by the
Judiciary Act of 1789, 1 Stat. 73, on September 24, 1789.
[Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 386.][, Federal Judicial Center.] It existed for nearly twenty-five years before, on April 9, 1814, New York was divided into
Northern and Southern Districts by 3 Stat. 120.
The subdivision of the district was reportedly instigated by Matthias Burnett Tallmadge, out of antipathy for fellow district judge William P. Van Ness.[H. Paul Burak, (1962).] These Districts were later further subdivided with the creation of Eastern District on February 25, 1865 by 13 Stat. 438,[ and the Western District on May 12, 1900, by 31 Stat. 175.]
For the first hundred years of its existence, the case load of the District was dominated first by admiralty cases, and then by a mix of admiralty and bankruptcy cases.Judges
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has 28 authorized judgeships, filled by judges appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. One seat is currently vacant. Sixteen judges who have taken senior status are eligible to continue hearing cases. As of June 1, 2009, the Chief Judge of the District is Judge Loretta A. Preska, succeeding Judge Kimba Wood, who assumed senior status.
The District Judges (active and senior) sitting as of 2009 are:Nominations & Vacancies
- On June 1, 2009, a vacancy was created in the District due to the decision of Judge Kimba Wood to assume senior status. No replacement nomination is pending at this time.
Footnotes
