Arthur Donald Spatt (December 13, 1925 – June 12, 2020) was a
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
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
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, Spatt was a Navigation Petty Officer in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
from 1944 to 1946, and received 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 Chi ...
from
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty.
Brookly ...
in 1949. He was in private practice in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
from 1949 to 1978. He was a state court judge in the
Supreme Court of the State of New York
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...
, Tenth Judicial District from 1978 to 1982, then an Administrative judge of
Nassau County from 1982 to 1986, and an associate justice of the New York Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, from 1986 to 1989.
Federal judicial service
On October 25, 1989, Spatt was nominated by President
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
to a seat on the
vacated by
Henry Bramwell
Henry Bramwell (September 3, 1919 – May 28, 2010) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Education and career
Bramwell was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was in the United ...
. Spatt 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 21, 1989, and received commission on November 27, 1989. He assumed
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...
on December 1, 2004.
His service terminated on June 12, 2020, due to his death at his home in
Commack, New York, of the effects of
blood cancer.
Notable rulings
Spatt penned the ruling in the Mahender and Varsha Sabhnani
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
federal criminal trial. He awarded rare double damages to
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n maids - Samirah, $620,744, and Enung, $315,802. The
judgment's award of double damages in federal criminal trials is notable, since the punitive sums are only, ordinarily granted in civil cases.
On August 20, 2012 Spatt suspended a Nassau County law that would have allowed County Executive Edward Mangano to reduce negotiated employee benefits.
See also
*
List of Jewish American jurists
References
External links
*
1925 births
2020 deaths
Brooklyn Law School alumni
Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
Lawyers from Brooklyn
Military personnel from New York City
New York Supreme Court Justices
United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush
20th-century American judges
21st-century American judges
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
Deaths from blood cancer
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