United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, S ...
, 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
* '' ...
.
Education and career
Korman is the son of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine and Poland. Born 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 ...
,
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
* '' ...
, Korman earned 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 from
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus.
Being New York City's first publ ...
in 1966, 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 1966, and a
Master of Laws
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
from
New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...
in 1971. From 1966 to 1968, he served as
law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...
to Judge Kenneth B. Keating of the
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by t ...
. Korman was an Associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton & Garrison in New York City from 1968 to 1970. In 1970, Korman became an
Assistant United States Attorney
An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...
in the Eastern District of New York, where he served until 1972.
From 1972 to 1974, Korman was an Assistant to the
Solicitor General of the United States
The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021.
The United States solicitor general represent ...
. He then returned to the United States Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of New York, where he served as Chief Assistant United States Attorney from 1974 to 1978, and as United States Attorney from 1978 to 1982. From 1982 to 1985, Korman worked as partner and of counsel at the firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in New York City. During the school year dating 1984 to 1985, Korman taught as a Professor at
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 ...
. Starting in 1983 and continuing until Korman's appointment to the bench, he was a member of the Temporary Commission of Investigation of the State of New York and Chairman of the Mayor's Committee on New York City Marshals. Judge Korman is married and has two children.
Federal judicial service
Korman was nominated by President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
on October 2, 1985, to the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, S ...
, to a new seat authorized by 98 Stat. 333. 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 November 1, 1985, and received commission on November 4, 1985, entering service on December 16, 1985. He served as Chief Judge from 2000 to 2007. 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 October 25, 2007. In addition to continuing his caseload in Brooklyn, Korman has also sat
by designation
A visiting judge is a judge appointed to hear a case as a member of a court to which he or she does not ordinarily belong. In United States federal courts, this is referred to as an assignment "by designation" of the Chief Justice of the Unite ...
on the Second, Sixth, and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals from 2008 to present.
Selected publications and awards
In 2005, Korman wrote the foreword to the book ''The Lie That Wouldn't Die: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,'' by Haddassa Ben-Itto. He wrote an essay in 2006 titled "Rewriting the Holocaust History of the Swiss Banks: A Growing Scandal," which was published in ''Holocaust Restitution: Perspectives on the Litigation and its Legacy,'' edited by Michael Bazyler and Roger P. Alford. Korman also co-authored a biographical essay on Judge Kenneth B. Keating of the New York Court of Appeals, published in ''The Judges of the New York Court of Appeals, a Biographical History,'' edited by Albert M. Rosenthal.
Judge Korman has received numerous awards, some of which include:
* Award for Outstanding Judicial Contribution in the Criminal Justice System, New York State Bar Association, 1996;
* Edward Weinfeld Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Administration of Justice, New York County Lawyers Association, 2002;
* Honorary Doctor of Laws, Brooklyn Law School, 2003;
* Learned Hand Medal for Excellence in Federal Jurisprudence, Federal Bar Council, 2006;
* Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for Invaluable Contribution to the American Legal System, Brooklyn College, 2014.
Selected decisions
1989: Korman ordered the extradition of Mahmoud Abed Atta (a member of the Abu Nidal Organization) to Israel to stand trial for a terrorist bombing that occurred on a bus traveling between the West Bank and Tel Aviv.
1992: Highlighting the defendant's lack of remorse, Korman sentenced a prominent corporate attorney, Harvey D. Myerson, to the severe sentence of 70 months in prison for committing over $2 million in tax fraud and fraud related to overbilling clients. The court of appeals affirmed.
1994: Korman sentenced a teenager to life in prison without parole following his conviction for killing a journalist in exchange for pay from a Colombian drug cartel angered by the journalist's publications.
1996: In a case involving a journalist murdered following the journalist's anti-drug cartel writings, Korman leniently sentenced two defendants convicted of murder conspiracy to 15 and 18 years, respectively. Korman cited the assistance that the defendants provided to the prosecution and the need to balance punishment with incentives for cooperation.
1996: Korman held that the Republican Party's primary system had an unconstitutional "chilling effect" on certain viable candidates. He wrote, "only the most atypical of candidates, ones with unlimited financial resources" had a chance of their names appearing on the ballot. The court of appeals affirmed Korman's ruling. The decision became the subject of various academic publications, including an article in the Georgetown Law Journal.
Nathaniel Persily
Nathaniel Persily is the James B. McClatchy Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, where he has taught since 2013. He is a scholar of constitutional law, election law, and the democratic process.yfair." Senator Alfonse D'Amato praised Korman's efforts as "Solomonlike" and "extraordinary."
2000: Korman found that the Republican Presidential nomination scheme was unconstitutional as "pos ngan undue burden in its totality on the right to vote." The New York Times stated that Korman's ruling "gave Republicans in the state something Republicans take for granted elsewhere . . . the opportunity to choose from a full slate of candidates." The decision was the subject of numerous academic publications, including an article in the Georgetown Law Journal.
2007: Following the 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash, Korman refused to allow New York City to cap its liability, holding that an obscure maritime law did not apply because the City's managers had been negligent in disobeying a city rule requiring that two captains remain in the pilot house while the ferry was in motion.
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 ...