John Emilio Sprizzo (December 23, 1934 – December 16, 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
.
Biography
Early life
Sprizzo was 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
* '' ...
, where his father was a milkman and his mother cut patterns for dresses. He attended
St. John's University in
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, where 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 1956 and was awarded 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
St. John's University School of Law
St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University.
The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Maste ...
in 1959.
[Weber, Bruce]
"John E. Sprizzo, 73, U.S. Judge, Dies"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', December 17, 2008. Accessed December 18, 2008.
Early career
He was an attorney in the Organized Crime Section of the Criminal Division at the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
from 1959 to 1963. Sprizzo was 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 ...
at 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 federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New Y ...
from 1963 to 1968, rising to chief appellate attorney in 1965 and assistant chief of the Criminal Division in 1966.
[ He taught at the ]Fordham University School of Law
Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test take ...
from 1968 to 1972. In 1970, he went into private practice at the New York firm of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP, (known as Curtis), is a New York-headquartered international law firm with 250 attorneys in 19 offices worldwide.
History
The law firm was founded in 1830 in New York City by Connecticut natives and broth ...
, where he helped establish the firm's litigation department.[
Sprizzo had served on the ]Knapp Commission
The Commission to Investigate Alleged Police Corruption (known informally as the Knapp Commission, after its chairman Whitman Knapp) was a five-member panel initially formed in April 1970 by Mayor John V. Lindsay to investigate corruption withi ...
in 1971, responsible for investigating corruption in the New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
.[ In 1973 and 1974, he had been a defense counsel to ]John N. Mitchell
John Newton Mitchell (September 15, 1913 – November 9, 1988) was the 67th Attorney General of the United States under President Richard Nixon and chairman of Nixon's 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns. Prior to that, he had been a municipal ...
, the former United States Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
, successfully defending him against conspiracy and perjury charges related to Mitchell's alleged involvement in the Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...
.[
]
Federal judicial service
A bi-partisan 10-member screening committee included Sprizzo as one of three prospective candidates from whom United States Senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New York in the United States Senate from 1977 until 2001 and served as an ...
would choose one to nominate to fill the vacancy to succeed Judge Charles Henry Tenney
Charles Henry Tenney (January 28, 1911 – November 11, 1994) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Education and career
Born in New York City, New York, Tenney received an ...
; the other two candidates were Edward Brodsky and Rudolph Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
. Moynihan selected Sprizzo to fill the vacancy in February 1980.[Staff]
"Sprizzo Nominated for Judge"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', February 19, 1980. Accessed December 18, 2008.
Sprizzo was nominated to the 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 July 29, 1981, to the seat vacated by Judge Charles Henry Tenney
Charles Henry Tenney (January 28, 1911 – November 11, 1994) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Education and career
Born in New York City, New York, Tenney received an ...
, 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 September 25, 1981, and received his commission on September 28, 1981.[ Sprizzo 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 January 1, 2000, remaining in that status until his death.[John Emilio Sprizzo]
, Federal Judicial Center
The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency of the United States federal courts. It was established by in 1967, at the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States.
According to , the main areas of respo ...
. Accessed December 18, 2008.
Notable cases
In 1984, Sprizzo heard an extradition
Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...
request from the British government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
for the return of Joe Doherty
Joe Doherty (born 20 January 1955) is an Irish former volunteer in the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who escaped during his 1981 trial for killing a member of the Special Air Service (SAS) in 1980. He was arre ...
, a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...
who had killed a British soldier in an ambush in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, escaped from a prison in Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
two days before his conviction and fled to the United States, where he was captured in a Manhattan
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 ...
bar. Sprizzo ruled that the discipline of the IRA's provisional wing made the killing a political act that was excluded by the extradition treaty between the United States and Britain.[Freudenheim, Milt; and Giniger, Henry]
"THE WORLD; Britain Fails In Extradition Bid"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', December 16, 1984. Accessed December 18, 2008. A British Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
MP Jill Knight
Joan Christabel Jill Knight, Baroness Knight of Collingtree, (; 9 July 1923 – 6 April 2022) was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Edgbaston from 1966 to 1997. S ...
called the ruling "a seal of approval to murder, maiming and terrorism".[ Officials from the US Justice Department called the ruling "outrageous" because it made the United States legal system complicit in terrorism.
Ultimately Sprizzo's ruling led to changes in United States extradition laws. Doherty was deported in February 1992.
In 1989, Sprizzo issued a scathing criticism of prosecutors in a drug conspiracy case when he dismissed charges against seven defendants. He sealed the court transcripts to keep his remarks out of the newspapers after he berated the prosecutors for their inadequate preparation. But they were released after ''The New York Times'' filed a protest:
]
Assistant United States Attorney Margaret S. Groban: It just seems a little hard for us that the first time we hear your honor's interpretation of membership is the day when you are going to let heroin traffickers walk out the door.
Judge Sprizzo: Now, wait. You are not going to lay that one on me. You let heroin traffickers out the door by not proceeding in a competent enough fashion to meet the possibility that the judge would not agree with you. . . . Do you know what is wrong with your office, and you in particular? You assume all we have to do is say narcotics.
Groban: That is not true.
Sprizzo: And the judge will roll over and let the case go to the jury. You people have not been trained the way I have been trained, dealing with judges like Judge Wyatt who threw my conspiracy count out, and other judges like Borelli who made the same kind of sophisticated analysis of conspiracy law. Your natural assumption is that we will go in all or nothing because in every case we have gotten away with it. I am telling you that in this case you didn't get away with it. If you had been a competent prosecutor, which you are not, you would have hedged against the possibility that maybe the judge would disagree with you. But it never occurs in the mind of you or anyone in your office that any trial judge will ever disagree with you on the law. Therefore, you do what you want in the face of clear admonitions from the court that these were dice you were rolling. Let's assume I am wrong; let's assume I am erroneous. A competent prosecutor would have hedged against the possibility that the judge might be wrong and decide an issue against the Government, and you put in a separate conspiracy count just to cover that possibility. If these drug dealers are walking free, it is because you did not hedge against that possibility. Don't lay it at my doorstep. I think I am right on the law. But even if I am wrong on the law, if they are walking out of here it is because you people were not competent enough to put in an extra charge in your indictment. Sit down.
In 1995, Sprizzo issued a permanent injunction against two anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
protesters — a retired Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop and a Franciscan friar — who had blocked the entrance to a women's medical clinic in Dobbs Ferry, New York
Dobbs Ferry is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 10,875 according to the 2010 United States Census. In 2019, its population rose to an estimated 11,027. The village of Dobbs Ferry is located in, and is a p ...
on multiple occasions. When the two were arrested in 1996 on similar charges in apparent criminal contempt of the injunction, Sprizzo cleared the men on the basis that they had acted out of religious conviction.[ Sprizzo acquitted the two men as they had been acting on "sincere, genuine, objectively based" religious convictions, in a decision that '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described as having "startled both sides in the abortion debate".[Hoffman, Jan]
"Judge Acquits Abortion Protesters on Basis of Religious Beliefs"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', January 19, 1997. Accessed December 18, 2008.
Death
Sprizzo died in Manhattan
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 ...
at age 73 on December 16, 2008 of organ failure
Organ dysfunction is a condition where an organ does not perform its expected function. Organ failure is organ dysfunction to such a degree that normal homeostasis cannot be maintained without external clinical intervention.
It is not a diagnosi ...
.[
]
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprizzo, John Emilio
1934 births
2008 deaths
Assistant United States Attorneys
Deaths from organ failure
Fordham University faculty
Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
New York (state) lawyers
People from Brooklyn
St. John's University (New York City) alumni
St. John's University School of Law alumni
United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan
20th-century American judges
American lawyers and judges of Italian descent