John M. Walker, Jr.

For the Episcopal bishop, see John M. Walker (bishop). For other people named John Walker, see John Walker (disambiguation).

John Mercer Walker, Jr.
Judge John M. Walker, Jr.
Occupation	Federal Judge

John Mercer Walker, Jr. (born December 26, 1940) is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a cousin of U.S. Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush. He was chief judge of the Second Circuit from October 1, 2000, until October 1, 2006, when he assumed senior status.

He was a judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York before being elevated to the Second Circuit in 1989.

Personal

Walker was born in New York City. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1958, and received his Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in 1962. He received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1966.

Walker is married with a daughter and three stepsons, and lives in Madison, Connecticut. He is the son of Dr. John Mercer Walker, Sr. and Elsie Louise Mead. His uncle is George Herbert Walker, Jr., co-founder of the New York Mets. He is a first cousin of U.S. President George H. W. Bush, the two having a grandfather in common, George Herbert Walker. He is also a first cousin, once removed, of U.S. President George W. Bush.

Career

Walker served in the Marine Corps Reserves from 1963 until 1967. From 1966 until 1968, he was State Counsel to the Republic of Botswana under the aegis of an Africa-Asia Public Service Fellowship.

Walker was in private practice in New York City from 1969 to 1970. From 1970 to 1975 he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. In 1975 he returned to private law practice with the New York firm of Carter, Ledyard & Milburn, where he was initially an associate and later a partner.

In 1981 Walker became Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, responsible for policy in law enforcement, regulatory, and trade matters, and with oversight of the Customs Service, Secret Service, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Walker remained in this position until 1985, when he became a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York.

Walker has served as Special Counsel to the U.S. Administrative Conference (1987–1992); president of the Federal Judges' Association (1993–1995); and member of the Budget Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States (1991–1999). He has been a Visiting Lecturer at Yale Law School since 2000; an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law since 1996; and director and on the faculty of New York University School of Law's Institute of Judicial Administration and Appellate Judges Seminar since 1992. Walker has also been a Director of the U.S. Association of Constitutional Law since 1997.

His former law clerks include former United States Deputy Attorney General James Comey and Ethan Leib.

Notable cases

Judge Walker has authored several influential copyright cases, including

• Computer Associates Int. Inc. v. Altai Inc., 982 F.2d 693 (2d Cir. 1992), a leading decision on how to establish copyright infringement for software
• Castle Rock Entertainment, Inc. v. Carol Publishing Group, 150 F.3d 132 (2d Cir. 1998), the "Seinfeld Aptitude Test" case, dealing with how to establish the substantial similarity of works.

Walker presided over the tax fraud trial of Leona Helmsley, whom he sentenced to four years in jail.

Fatal traffic accident

On the evening of October 17, 2006, as he began his drive home to Madison, Walker's Ford Escape automobile struck a police officer named Daniel Picagli in New Haven, Connecticut. The officer was directing traffic at a road construction site for AT&T. There were no construction signs or traffic cones marking off the site. Picagli died four days later on October 21, 2006. "He had been wearing a black raincoat and a reflective vest". Police Chief Francisco Ortiz said the "officers did not feel it was necessary to test Walker for drugs or alcohol". Walker stopped immediately, and New Haven police have said the cause was not related to drugs or alcohol. A police investigation reported that Walker "was traveling at a slow speed through the dark and rainy construction site." The prosecutor declined to press charges, saying nothing indicated "intentional, negligent or reckless conduct" by Walker.

References

• Daniel Wise, Walker to Assume Senior Status; Law Professor Tapped, N.Y. Law Journal, June 30, 2006.

External links

• John M. Walker, Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Nomination to be an Assistant secretary of the Treasury - the American Presidency Project
• Brooklyn Law School commencement profile
• Yale faculty page