Shira Scheindlin

Shira A. Scheindlin (pronounced SHEND-lin) (born 1946 in Washington, D.C.) is a United States District Court judge for the Southern District of New York. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on July 28, 1994 to a seat vacated by Louis J. Freeh, confirmed by the United States Senate on September 28, 1994, and commissioned on September 29, 1994.

Scheindlin is known for her intellectual acumen, demanding courtroom demeanor, aggressive interpretations of the law, and expertise in mass torts, electronic discovery, and complex litigation. [Almanac of the Federal Judiciary, 2005]

Education

Scheindlin received her Bachelor's Degree in Far Eastern Studies from University of Michigan (1967), her Master's Degree in History from Columbia University (1969), and her J.D. from Cornell Law School (1975). Scheindlin had the highest grade point average of her law school class.

Pre-judicial career ["Id."]

Before taking her current seat on the Southern District, Scheindlin worked as a prosecutor, commercial lawyer, and judge. She was a clerk for federal judge Charles L. Brieant, and from 1977 to 1981 was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. From 1981 to 1982, she was General Counsel for the New York City Department of Investigation. Starting in 1982, and continuing through 1984, she served as special master in the Agent Orange mass tort litigation. From 1992 to 1994, she was special master for another mass torts case involving property damaged by asbestos.

As a commercial lawyer, Scheindlin worked for Stroock & Stroock & Lavan (1975-76), Budd Larner Gross Rosenbaum Greenberg & Sade (1986-90), and Herzfeld & Rubin, P.C. (1990-94).

Important cases

During her tenure, Scheindlin has presided over a number of high profile cases, many of which advanced important new positions in the interpretation of the Constitution or federal law.
*In April 2002, in the case "United States v. Osama Awadallah", ["See" 202 F. Supp. 2d 55 (2002).] after Awadallah testified before a grand jury that he had met with two of the September 11, 2001 hijackers, but could not remember their names, Scheindlin dismissed a perjury charge against him and found that Awadallah's prolonged detention without actual criminal charges was based on misrepresentations and omissions by the government and could not be justified under existing law. Her decision was later reversed on appeal.
*In February 2004 in the case "Maurice Clarett v. National Football League", ["See" 306 F. Supp. 2d 379 (2004).] Scheindlin, accepting the antitrust-law arguments raised by lawyer Alan C. Milstein, ruled that the NFL could not bar Clarett from participating in the 2004 NFL Draft. This decision was overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the case was not heard by the Supreme Court.
*In April 2004, in the case "Zubulake v. UBS Warburg", ["See" 382 F. Supp. 2d 536 (2005); 231 F.R.D. 159 (2005).] Scheindlin sanctioned UBS for not being able to complete their E-Discovery of potentially informative documents, and not complying with their litigation hold on the destruction of documents. Due to this, the defense was not able to present documents to their defense, and lost the $29 million promotion discrimination case. This case has been seen as revolutionary in the legal realms of human resources and computer forensics, as the burden of proof was effectively shifted to the defendant for their inability to produce documents in a timely manner, and the presentation to the jury of an adverse inference.
*Judge Scheindlin presided over three trials of John Gotti Jr. ("Junior"), each of which ended in a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury. [http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/09/26/gotti.retrial.ap/] The principle charge against Gotti in the trials was racketeering conspiracy stemming from Gotti's alleged management of the Gambino crime family following the incarceration and death of his father, John Gotti Sr. (the "Dapper Don"). "On September 20, 2005, the jury acquitted him of securities fraud and hung 11-1 for conviction on racketeering charges that included the assault on Sliwa. His re-trial on the remaining charges the following March also ended in a mistrial, with the jury hung 8-4 for acquittal. At the third trial involving the Sliwa assault, prosecutors convinced 12 jurors that Junior had ordered the kidnapping but failed to convince them that he had engaged in criminal activity after 1999 and the jury again deadlocked on the racketeering charges, this time voting 8-4 for conviction." [ [http://www.ganglandnews.com/gottijr.htm Gang Land News: Gotti Jr ] ]
*In September 2006 Scheindlin ruled that Judith Clark, a Weather Underground radical serving 75 years to life for the murder of a Brinks guard and two police officers during a robbery, was entitled to a new trial because her Sixth Amendment right to counsel was violated. Scheindlin found Clark's right to counsel was violated even though the then-self-proclaimed revolutionary insisted on representing herself at trial, turned down legal counsel, boycotted much of the trial and refused to recognize the court's authority. In January 2008 the Second Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously reversed Scheindlin's ruling and held that Clark was not denied her right to counsel because Clark "knowingly and intelligently exercised her constitutional right to make those choices."

Awards

Distinguished Jurist Award from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (2008)

William Nelson Cromwell Award for unselfish service to the profession and the community from the New York County Lawyers Association (2007)

Edward Weinfeld Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Administration of Justice, New York County Lawyers (2005)

William J. Brennan Award, Criminal Law Section, New York State Bar Association (2003)

Robert L. Haig Award for distinguished public service, Commercial & Federal Litigation Section, New York State Bar Association (2001)

Special Achievement Award in appreciation and recognition of Sustained Superior Performance of Duty, U.S. Department of Justice (1980)

Publications

One Day in September (A Celebration of the Bill of Rights), N.Y.L.J., September 25, 2006 (with Brian Lehman, Esq.).

E-Discovery: The Newly Amended Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Moore's Federal Practice, 2006.

Electronic Discovery Sanctions in the Twenty-First Century, 11 Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review 71 (Fall 2004) (with Kanchana Wangkeo, Esq.).

With All Due Deference: Judicial Responsibility in a Time of Crisis, 32 Hofstra L. Rev. 795 (Spring 2004) (with Matthew L. Schwartz, Esq.).

Mastering Rule 53: The Evolution and Impact of the New Federal Rule Governing Special Masters, 51 Federal Lawyer 34 (Feb. 2004) (with Jonathan M. Redgrave, Esq.).

Revisions in Federal Rule 53 Provide New Options for Using Special Masters in Litigation, 76 Journal of the N.Y. State Bar Association 18 (Jan. 2004) (with Jonathan M. Redgrave, Esq.).

Judge Jack V. Weinstein, Tort Litigation, and the Public Good: A Roundtable Discussion to Honor One of America's Great Trial Judges on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday, 12 J.L. & Pol'y 149 (2003) (panel).

Outside Counsel: Retaining, Destroying and Producing E-Data: Part 2, N.Y.L.J., May 9, 2002 (with Jeffrey Rabkin, Esq.).

Electronic Discovery in Federal Civil Litigation: Is Rule 34 Up to the Task?, 41 B.C.L. Rev. 327 (2000) (with Jeffrey Rabkin, Esq.).

Secrecy and the Courts: The Judges' Perspective, 9 J.L. & Pol=y 169 (2000) (panel).

Foreword, A Corporate Counsel=s Guide to Discovery in the Information Age, Washington Legal Foundation (2000).

Judges, Juries, and Sexual Harassment, 17 Yale L. & Pol'y Rev. 813 (1999) (with John Elofson, Esq.).

A Year in the Life: Reflections of a New District Judge, N.Y.L.J., Nov. 20, 1995.

The ADR Landscape, 496 PLI/Lit 437 (1994) (with David Ross, Esq.).

Legal/Business Advice Dichotomy, N.Y. L.J., Aug. 5, 1993.

Guide to the Southern District of New York Civil Justice Expense and Delay Reduction Plan, 481 PLI/Lit 729 (1993).

A Portrait of a Lady: The Woman Lawyer in the 1980s, 35 N.Y.L. Sch. L. Rev. 391 (1990) (with Prof. Stacy Caplow).

Discovering the Discoverable: A Bird's Eye View of Discovery in a Complex Multidistrict Class Action Litigation, 52 Brooklyn L. Rev. 397 (1986).

Venue in the Second Circuit, 43 Brooklyn L. Rev. 841 (1977) (with Hon. Charles L. Briaent, Jr.).

Legal Services: Past and Present, 59 Cornell L. Rev. 960 (1974).

External links

* [http://air.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=2112 Biography from the Federal Judicial Center]
* [http://www.nfl.com/news/story/7081207 "Judge denies NFL's request in Clarett case"] from NFL.com
* [http://www.nfl.com/news/story/7270090 "Clarett turns to Supreme Court"] from NFL.com
* [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aaNj17z1i7Gk&refer=top_world_news "UBS Must Pay Ex-Saleswoman $9.1 Mln in Sex Bias Case (Update2)"] from Bloomberg (April 6, 2005)

References