Mary Kay Vyskocil (born March 22, 1958) is a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

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 federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New ...

and a former United States bankruptcy judge for the same court. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

nominated her to the district bench in 2018 and again in 2019, and she was confirmed in 2019.

Education

Vyskocil earned her undergraduate degree from the Dominican College in

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

, New York, where she was the class

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

and student government president, and her Juris Doctor from St. John's University School of Law, where she served on the Moot Court Executive Board."President Donald J. Trump Announces Fourteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Thirteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Eighth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees" White House, May 10, 2018

Legal career

Prior to her appointment to the bench, she practiced general commercial litigation for almost thirty-three years at the New York City-based law firm of

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is an international white shoe law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm specializes in litigation and corporate practices, particularly mergers and acquisitions, with over 1,000 attorneys in 11 offices w ...

Federal judicial service

Bankruptcy court service

Vyskocil was selected to become a judge of the

United States Bankruptcy Court United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy c ...

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 federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New ...

in 2016. She was sworn in as a United States bankruptcy judge on April 7, 2016, and served until her elevation as a district court judge.

District court service

In August 2017, Vyskocil was one of several candidates pitched to New York senators

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, an ...

and

Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...

by the White House as judicial candidates for vacancies on the federal courts in New York. On May 10, 2018, President

announced his intent to nominate Vyskocil to serve as a

for the

. On May 15, 2018, her nomination was sent to the Senate. She was nominated to the seat that was vacated by Judge Loretta A. Preska, who 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 March 1, 2017. On August 1, 2018, a hearing on her nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

. On September 13, 2018, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 21–0 vote. On January 3, 2019, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of 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 April 8, 2019, President Trump announced the renomination of Vyskocil to the district court. On May 21, 2019, her nomination was sent to the Senate. On June 20, 2019, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 21–1 vote. On December 18, 2019, the

invoked

cloture Cloture (, also ), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. ' ...

on her nomination by a 89–4 vote. On December 19, 2019, her nomination was confirmed by a 91–3 vote. She received her judicial commission on December 20, 2019. On December 5, 2019,

Karen McDougal Karen McDougal (born March 23, 1971) is an American model and actress. She is known for her appearances in ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month for December 1997 and Playmate of the Year of 1998.Fegley, Richard, & Wayda, Stephen (photog ...

, an American model and one-time

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

magazine Playmate who had an affair with Trump in 2006 to 2007, filed a defamation lawsuit against the television network

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

. According to the suit, network anchor

Tucker Carlson Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American television host, conservative political commentator and writer who has hosted the nightly political talk show '' Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News since 2016. Carlson began ...

defamed McDougal by saying that she had personally extorted Trump for the hush money she received in 2016, a claim she denied. On September 24, 2020, Vyskocil dismissed the defamation lawsuit, writing that, "The statements are rhetorical hyperbole and opinion commentary intended to frame a political debate, and, as such, are not actionable as defamation". The judge added that the "'general tenor' of the show should then inform a viewer that arlsonis not 'stating actual facts' about the topics he discusses and is instead engaging in 'exaggeration' and 'non-literal commentary.'" In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday April 11, 2023,

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 ...

District Attorney

Alvin Bragg Alvin Leonard Bragg Jr. (born October 21, 1973) is an American politician and lawyer from the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York who is serving as the New York County District Attorney. In 2021, he became the first African-American a ...

sued House Judiciary Committee Chairman

Jim Jordan James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician currently serving in his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he is a two-ti ...

and the committee to block a subpoena compelling former New York prosecutor Mark F. Pomerantz to testify to the House committee. The suit alleges that former President Donald J. Trump, Jordan, and other members of the House committee are engaged in "a campaign of intimidation, retaliation, and obstruction" related to the ongoing case involving "hush money" paid by Trump to

Stormy Daniels Stephanie Gregory Clifford (born March 17, 1979), known professionally as Stormy Daniels, is an American pornographic film actress and director, and former stripper. She has won numerous industry awards, and is a member of the NightMoves, AVN ...

. The case came before Vyskocil on April 11. On the same day, she denied Bragg's request for emergency relief and set a hearing for April 19, 2023. Jordan revealed that a "field hearing", in which witnesses would be called, was to be held prior to this, on April 17 at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, close to Bragg's office in Manhattan. At the April 19 district court hearing, Vyskocil ruled that she had no

legal standing Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

to block the subpoena and denied Bragg a requested stay of proceedings pending appeal. The same day, following an emergency motion by Bragg, 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 ...

granted an administrative stay "so that a three-judge panel may consider the motion seeking a stay pending appeal of the district court’s order." On April 21, Bragg dropped his appeal after reaching an agreement with Jordan that allowed the subpoena against Pomerantz, while protecting the District Attorney's privileges and interests. Pomerantz will be deposed on May 12.

Memberships

She was a member of the

Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquarter ...

from 1998 to 2005.United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Mary Kay Vyskocil
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Awards and recognition

Vyskocil has been ranked as one of the "Top Ten Women Litigators in the United States" by Benchmark Litigation. In 2016, she received a "Top Women in Law Award" from the ''New York Law Journal''. She has been recognized as a litigation leader by Chambers, Legal 500, Who's Who Legal and America's Leading Business Lawyers, and Law360.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vyskocil, Mary Kay 1958 births Living people 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges Dominican College (New York) alumni Judges of the United States bankruptcy courts Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Lawyers from New York City New York (state) lawyers Simpson Thacher & Bartlett associates Simpson Thacher & Bartlett partners St. John's University School of Law alumni United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump