Ramon Ernesto Reyes Jr. (born 1966) is an American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York since 2023. He previously served as a United States magistrate judge of the same court from 2006 to 2023.

Education

Reyes received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University in 1988, a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

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 1992 and a Master of Laws from New York University School of Law in 1993.

Career

In 1991, Reyes was a summer associate at

Morrison & Foerster Morrison & Foerster LLP (also known as MoFo) is an American multinational law firm headquartered in San Francisco, California, with 17 offices located throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. The firm has over 1,000 lawyers who advise cli ...

in their Manhattan office. In 1993, he was a legislative attorney for the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

. From 1994 to 1995, he served as a

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 ...

for Judge

David G. Trager David Gershon Trager (December 23, 1937 – January 5, 2011) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Education Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Trager received a Bachelor of Ar ...

of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. From 1995 to 1998, he was a litigation associate at

O'Melveny & Myers O'Melveny & Myers LLP is an American multinational law firm founded in Los Angeles, California in 1885. The firm employs approximately 740 lawyers and has offices in California, Washington, D.C., New York City, Beijing, Brussels, Hong Kong, Lon ...

in New York City. From 1998 to 2006, Reyes served as 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 ...

for the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. From 2008 to 2017, he was an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

of clinical law at Brooklyn Law School.

Federal judicial service

From February 13, 2006 to November 13, 2023, he served as a magistrate judge for the Eastern District of New York. Reyes was recommended to President Joe Biden by Senator Chuck Schumer. On September 2, 2022, President Biden announced his intent to nominate Reyes to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. On September 6, 2022, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Reyes to the seat vacated by Judge

Kiyo A. Matsumoto Kiyo A. Matsumoto (born August 29, 1955) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Early life and education Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Matsumoto graduated from the ...

, who assumed senior status on July 23, 2022. Reyes was unanimously rated "well qualified" for the judgeship by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. On November 30, 2022, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. During his confirmation hearing, Senator Marsha Blackburn, accused him of "releasing dangerous criminals into the community" via bail grants. She asked how the panel could be assured Reyes would follow sentencing laws considering complaints about crime from her constituents. On January 3, 2023, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. He was renominated on January 23, 2023. On February 9, 2023, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 vote. On November 7, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 50–46 vote. On November 8, 2023, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–48 vote. He received his judicial commission on November 13, 2023.

Memberships and organizations

Reyes is a member of the board of trustees of

and the board of directors of the

Federal Bar Association The Federal Bar Association (FBA) is the primary voluntary professional organization for private and government lawyers and judges practicing and sitting in federal courts in the United States. Six times a year, The Association prints ''The Fede ...

, Eastern District Chapter. He previously served as president of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association in 2019, as a member of the board of trustees of the

Federal Bar Council The Federal Bar Council is a not-for-profit specialty bar association whose membership consists of lawyers and judges who practice primarily in federal courts within the Second Circuit. The Second Circuit covers the following districts: District ...

from 2006 to 2012, and a member of the American Bar Association's Coalition on Racial and Ethnic Justice from 2013 to 2016.

References

External links