Chester John Straub (born May 12, 1937) is an inactive
senior United States circuit judge 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 ju ...
headquartered in New York City.
Education and career
Straub was born on May 12, 1937, 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 City, New York. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from
St. Peter's College in 1958, and his
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 Virginia School of Law in 1961. Straub served as a First Lieutenant in United States Army Intelligence and Security from 1961 to 1963. In 1963, he began the private practice of law with
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, commonly known as Willkie, is a white-shoe, international law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1888, the firm specializes in corporate practice and employs approximately 1000 lawyers in 13 offices a ...
, where he became a partner in 1971, and where he remained until his appointment to the federal bench. Straub's private practice was concentrated in litigation, regulatory agencies and governmental affairs.
State legislative service
Straub was a member of the
New York State Assembly from 1967 to 1972, sitting in the
177th,
178th and
179th New York State Legislature
The 179th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6, 1971, to May 12, 1972, during the thirteenth and fourteenth years of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany ...
s; and a member of the
New York State Senate from 1973 to 1975, sitting in the
180th and
181st New York State Legislatures.
Federal judicial service
Straub 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 ...
on February 11, 1998, to a seat on 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 ju ...
vacated by Judge
Joseph M. McLaughlin. 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 June 1, 1998, and received commission on June 3, 1998. He assumed
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...
on July 16, 2008.
Notable cases
In January 2006, Straub was one of the three judges selected to hear ''National Abortion Federation v. Gonzales'', 437 F.3d 278, one of the cases later folded into and resolved by ''
Gonzales v. Carhart''. The Second Circuit thereby became one of three circuits to uphold district court rulings against the constitutionality of the
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. Out of the nine circuit court judges who ruled on this issue, Straub was the only one to dissent, voting to reverse the district court and uphold the Act.
In the 2006 case of ''MacWade v. Kelly'', Straub wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel of the Second Circuit that warrantless, suspicionless police searches of
New York City Subway riders in response to terrorism were justified by the "special needs doctrine" and so did not violate the
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
In 2012, Straub dissented in ''
Windsor v. United States'', a case in which 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 ju ...
held in an opinion written by prominent conservative Chief Judge
Dennis Jacobs
Dennis Jacobs (born February 28, 1944) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Education and career
Born and raised in New York City, Jacobs graduated from Forest Hills High School ...
, that Section 3 of the
Defense of Marriage Act
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marr ...
(DOMA) is unconstitutional.
Windsor v. United States
', 699 F.3d 169 (2d Cir. 2012). Of the six circuit judges to rule on challenges to DOMA Section 3 brought by married same-sex couples, Straub was the only judge to find the law constitutional. He wrote that DOMA could easily be justified by Congress' "common sense." Straub also stated that DOMA was constitutional because "the state is . . . interested in preventing 'irresponsible procreation,' a phenomenon implicated exclusively by heterosexuals," and that "reserving federal marriage rights to opposite-sex couples 'protect
civil society.'" Straub went on to say that courts have no role in protecting minorities' civil rights "where there is a robust political debate because doing so poisons the political well, imposing a destructive anti-majoritarian constitutional ruling on a vigorous debate."
On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court affirmed that DOMA Section 3 was unconstitutional because there was "strong evidence" that the "essence" of the law was "'a bare congressional desire to harm a politically unpopular group.'"
References
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Straub, Chester John
1937 births
Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Lawyers from New York City
Living people
Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly
Military personnel from New York City
Democratic Party New York (state) state senators
Politicians from Brooklyn
Saint Peter's University alumni
United States court of appeals judges appointed by Bill Clinton
University of Virginia School of Law alumni
People associated with Willkie Farr & Gallagher
20th-century American judges
21st-century American judges