Allen George Schwartz (August 23, 1934 – March 22, 2003) was a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...
of the
.
Education and career
Born in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York, Schwartz received a
Bachelor of Business Administration
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...
degree from
City College of New York,
Baruch College
Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates unde ...
in 1955 and a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...
from the
University of Pennsylvania Law School
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and oldes ...
in 1958. He was in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
from 1958 to 1959, remaining in the
United States Army Reserves
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces.
Since July 2020, ...
until 1965. He was an Assistant district attorney of
New York County
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
from 1959 to 1962. He was in private practice in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
from 1962 to 1977, and a corporation counsel for New York City from 1978 to 1981, returning to private practice from 1982 to 1993.
Schwartz was defense counsel for comedian
Lenny Bruce, who was arrested in 1964 and charged with obscenity in connection with his standup routine at
Cafe Au Go Go
The Cafe Au Go Go was a Greenwich Village night club located in the basement of the New Andy Warhol Garrick Theatre building in the late 1960s, and located at 152 Bleecker Street in Manhattan, New York City. The club featured many musical groups, f ...
, a Greenwich Village nightclub.
He formed a law partnership with
Edward I. Koch in 1965. Appointed
Corporation Counsel when Koch became New York City mayor in 1978, Schwartz was credited with revamping the corporation counsel office, which was in disarray as a result of the city's
fiscal crisis. Beyond his professional relationships, Schwartz was a close friend and adviser to Koch. Schwartz later said, "Ed Koch and I never had an argument and we never had an uncomfortable day with each other."
Schwartz presided over a legal dispute between authors
J. K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...
and
N. K. Stouffer. Stouffer alleged that Rowling had
stolen material from her 1984 works ''The Legend of Rah and the Muggles'' and ''Larry Potter and His Best Friend Lilly''.
In 2002 Schwartz ruled that Stouffer had lied to the court and doctored evidence to support her claims, fining Stouffer $50,000 for a "pattern of intentional bad faith conduct."
[Court throws out 'Muggles' claims against Rowling, ''USA Today'', September 18, 2002](_blank)
/ref>
Federal judicial service
On October 27, 1993, Schwartz was nominated by President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
to a seat on the vacated by Vincent Lyons Broderick. Schwartz was confirmed by the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on November 20, 1993, and received his commission on November 22, 1993, serving until his death at age 68.
See also
*List of Jewish American jurists
This is a list of notable Jewish American jurists. For other famous Jewish Americans, see Lists of American Jews.
Supreme Court of the United States
Federal judges Appellate judges
* Robert E. Bacharach, Judge of the United States Court of ...
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartz, Allen G.
1934 births
2003 deaths
20th-century American judges
20th-century American lawyers
21st-century American judges
City College of New York alumni
Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Lawyers from Brooklyn
United States Army personnel
United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton
University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni
United States Army reservists