Charles LaMonte Brieant Jr. (March 13, 1923 – July 20, 2008) 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

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a United States district court, federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York (state), New York ...

from 1971 to 2008 and its Chief Judge from 1986 to 1993.

Education and career

Born March 13, 1923, in Ossining,

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 * '' ...

, Brieant served in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

from 1943 to 1946. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1947 from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

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 Chi ...

in 1949 from Columbia Law School. He was in private practice in White Plains, New York, from 1949 to 1971. He served as the Water Commissioner of Ossining from 1948 to 1951. He was the Town Justice of Ossining from 1952 to 1958. He was the Village Attorney for Briarcliff Manor, New York, from 1958 to 1959. He was a special assistant district attorney for

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

, New York, from 1958 to 1959. He was a Town Supervisor for Ossining from 1960 to 1963. He was an assistant counsel for the New York State Joint Legislative Committee on Fire Insurance in 1968. He was a member of the

Westchester County Board of Legislators The Westchester County Board of Legislators is the legislative, policy-making branch of Westchester County. The powers of the Board are enumerated in the county's charter. A key power of the Board concerns finances: appropriating funds, approving ...

from 1970 to 1971.

Federal judicial service

Brieant was nominated by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

on June 24, 1971, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge John F. X. McGohey. He 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 July 29, 1971, and received his commission on July 29, 1971. He served as Chief Judge from 1986 to 1993. He was a member of the

Judicial Conference of the United States The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...

from 1989 to 1995. 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 May 31, 2007. His service terminated on July 20, 2008, due to his death of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

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 ...

Poisoning incident

In the late 1980s, Brieant was sent a box of chocolates anonymously. His wife ate several of the candies, and became violently ill. Investigation determined that the chocolates had been sent by John Buettner-Janusch, the former chairman of the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

(NYU) Anthropology Department, who had been sentenced to prison by Brieant after being convicted of making illegal drugs. Buettner-Janusch was convicted of attempted murder.

Anecdotes

Brieant was known as "Charlie" by his close friends and colleagues. He was also renowned by members of the bar for his

Rollie Fingers Roland Glen Fingers (born August 25, 1946) is an American former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams between 1968 and 1985, when his effectiveness helped to redefine the value of relievers within baseba ...

-style mustache. For many years, Brieant displayed in his judicial chambers a painted portrait of Judge

Martin Manton Martin Thomas Manton (August 2, 1880 – November 17, 1946) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for th ...

, a former

Chief Judge A chief judge (also known as presiding judge, president judge or principal judge) is the highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. According to the Federal judiciary of the United States, th ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...

who was convicted and imprisoned for accepting bribes from litigants. When asked why he had rescued the portrait of the disgraced Manton from obscurity and given it a prominent place in his chambers, Brieant would tell visitors that the painting was a reminder of the fallibility of judges.

Honor

The federal courthouse in White Plains, New York, where Brieant sat for the last several years of his judicial career, was thereafter renamed the

Charles L. Brieant Jr. Federal Building and Courthouse The Hon. Charles L. Brieant Jr. Federal Building and Courthouse is a United States federal office building and courthouse located at 300 Quarropas Street in downtown White Plains, New York, the seat of Westchester County. It is adjacent to the Ric ...

in his honor.

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brieant, Charles LaMonte Jr. 1923 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American judges Columbia Law School alumni Columbia University alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Legislators from Westchester County, New York Military personnel from New York (state) New York (state) lawyers People from Ossining, New York Town supervisors in New York (state) United States Army Air Forces soldiers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon