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Denny Chin

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Denny Chin
陳卓光
Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 1, 2021
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
In office
April 23, 2010 – June 1, 2021
Appointed byBarack Obama
Preceded byRobert D. Sack
Succeeded byMyrna Pérez
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
In office
August 10, 1994 – April 26, 2010
Appointed byBill Clinton
Preceded bySeat established by 104 Stat. 5089
Succeeded byJ. Paul Oetken
Personal details
Born
Check Kong Chin

(1954-04-13) April 13, 1954 (age 70)[1]
Kowloon, British Hong Kong
SpouseKathy Hirata Chin
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
Fordham University (JD)

Denny Chin (陳卓光; born April 13, 1954[1]) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based in New York City. He was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York before joining the federal appeals bench. President Bill Clinton nominated Chin to the district court on March 24, 1994, and Chin was confirmed August 9 of that same year. On October 6, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Chin to the Second Circuit. He was confirmed on April 22, 2010, by the United States Senate, filling the vacancy created by Judge Robert D. Sack who assumed senior status.[2][3][4] Chin was the first Asian American appointed as a United States District Judge outside of the Ninth Circuit.

Early life, education, and career

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Chin was born in 1954 in Kowloon, Hong Kong and came to the U.S. in 1956. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1971.[5] He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in psychology from Princeton University in 1975 after completing a 130-page long senior thesis titled "The Old Ones of Chinatown: A Study of the Elderly Chinese."[6] While a student at Princeton, Chin was a staff writer and later managing editor at The Daily Princetonian.[7] In 1978, Chin graduated from Fordham University School of Law with a Juris Doctor, where he was the Managing Editor of the Fordham Law Review. Chin currently teaches first year Legal Writing at Fordham as an adjunct professor.[8][9]

Following a 1978 to 1980 clerkship with Judge Henry Frederick Werker in the Southern District, Chin worked for the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell from 1980 to 1982.[8] He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District from 1982 to 1986.[9] In 1986, Chin left the U.S. Attorney's Office and started a law firm, Campbell, Patrick & Chin, with two colleagues from the U.S. Attorney's Office. In 1990, he joined the law firm Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C., where he specialized in labor and employment law and represented employees and unions.[8][9]

Federal judicial service

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President Bill Clinton nominated Chin to the Southern District bench on March 24, 1994, to a new seat created by 104 Stat. 5089. The United States Senate confirmed Chin on August 9, 1994, and Chin received his commission the next day. His service as a district court judge was terminated on April 26, 2010, when he was elevated to the court of appeals.[9]

On October 6, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Chin to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary reported Chin's nomination to the full Senate on December 10, 2009[10] and he was confirmed by a 98–0 vote on April 22, 2010.[11] He received his judicial commission on April 23, 2010.[9] He was sworn in as a Circuit Judge on April 26, 2010.[12] Chin assumed senior status on June 1, 2021.[9][13]

Notable cases

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In 2001, Chin rejected a motion by the Parents Television Council (PTC) to dismiss a lawsuit that the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) filed against it.[14] At the time, the PTC had been campaigning for advertisers to withdraw sponsorship of WWE's flagship program SmackDown because it believed that the program caused the violent deaths of four children. Chin's ruling came on the grounds that WWF had a sound basis in suing the PTC over defamation, interference with business, and copyright infringement.[15] PTC and WWE settled out of court and, as part of the settlement agreement, the PTC paid WWF $3.5 million USD and PTC president Bozell issued a public apology.[16]

In Fox v. Franken, Chin denied Fox News Channel (who alleged a trademark violation) an injunction against Al Franken's Book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.[17]

Chin also presided over the criminal prosecution of Larry Stewart, the handwriting expert who was accused of committing perjury during the trial of Martha Stewart (no relation).[18] Larry Stewart was acquitted by a jury.[19]

Chin presided over the criminal trial of Pak Dong-seon in connection with Pak's alleged involvement in the scandal surrounding the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program. Pak was convicted by a jury and sentenced by Chin to 5 years in prison.[20]

Chin dismissed the suit Sam Sloan vs. Paul Truong and Susan Polgar in which Sloan accused Susan Polgar and Paul Truong of posting thousands of obscene "Fake Sam Sloan" remarks in his name over a two-year period in an effort to win election to the board of the United States Chess Federation (Polgar and Truong were elected to the board and Sloan was defeated).

Chin presided over the criminal trial of Oscar Wyatt, the Texas oil executive accused of making kick-backs to the Saddam Hussein regime during the UN Oil-For-Food Program. In the middle of his trial, Wyatt changed his plea to guilty as part of a plea bargain with the government.[21]

He was assigned the Google Book Search Settlement Agreement case on January 8, 2009, after the death of the previous supervising judge. On March 23, 2011, Chin rejected Google's plan to digitize every book published, saying the plan violated copyright laws. In November 2013, Chin dismissed Authors Guild et al. v. Google.[22] On April 18, 2016, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal.[23]

In 2012, Chin presided over the criminal sentencing of Anil Kumar, a senior executive of McKinsey and Company in the Galleon Group insider trading investigation. Chin sentenced Kumar to 2 years of probation.[24]

In 2016, Chin joined the panel that upheld Tom Brady's suspension by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for the Deflatgate scandal.[25]

In May 2024, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in the First Amendment case of National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo, favoring the NRA's case against New York insurance regulator Maria Vullo. This ruling overturned the decision of Chin and his two fellow Second Circuit jurists, Susan Carney and Rosemary Pooler.[26][27]

U.S. v. Madoff

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Main articles: Bernard Madoff and Madoff investment scandal

In 2009 Chin presided over U.S. v. Madoff. Madoff admitted to committing securities fraud via a Ponzi scheme starting in the early 1990s, which involved potentially as much as $65 billion. On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal charges relating to the scheme. Following his pleading, Chin revoked Madoff's $10 million bail and ordered him to report immediately to jail at the request of the federal prosecutors, citing that Madoff had both the resources and the incentive to flee before his formal sentencing.[28] On June 29, 2009, Chin accepted the prosecutor's recommendation to sentence Madoff to a prison term of 150 years, thus effectively handing down a life sentence.[29] Chin explained that imposing the maximum sentence on Madoff was appropriate because he had concluded that Madoff's crimes were "staggering" and "extraordinary evil" and wanted the sentence to have a stronger deterrent effect.[30]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session on Confirmations of Appointees to the Federal Judiciary, Part 4
  2. ^ "President Obama Nominates Judge Denny Chin for United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson for United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit". whitehouse.gov. October 6, 2009 – via National Archives.
  3. ^ Weiser, Benjamin (September 9, 2009). "Judge Who Sentenced Madoff to Be Nominated to Higher Court". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  4. ^ O'Brien, Michael (October 6, 2009). "Obama names Madoff case judge to fill Sotomayor spot".
  5. ^ "U.S. District Judge Denny Chin to Address Spring 2009 Law Graduates" (Press release). University of Miami. May 21, 2009. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  6. ^ Chin, Denny. Princeton University. Department of Psychology (ed.). "The Old Ones of Chinatown: A Study of the Elderly Chinese". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ "Denny Chin | Office of the Executive Vice President". evp.princeton.edu. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c "Adjunct Faculty — Profiles: Denny Chin". law.fordham.edu. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Chin, Denny - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  10. ^ "Judicial Nomination Materials: 111th Congress". Archived from the original on November 4, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  11. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation Denny Chin, of New York, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit)".
  12. ^ "Hon. Denny Chin".
  13. ^ Kragie, Andrew. "2nd Circ. Judge Chin Leaving Seat, Along With Pa. Trial Judge - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  14. ^ Dempsey, John (May 28, 2001). "WWF wins round 1 against parents org". Variety. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
  15. ^ "Judge rejects Parents Television Council motion to Dismiss Lawsuit" (Press release). World Wrestling Entertainment. May 24, 2001. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009.
  16. ^ "World Wrestling Entertainment Settles Lawsuit With Parents Television Council; Founder Brent Bozell Issues Apology" (Press release). World Wrestling Entertainment. July 8, 2002. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009.
  17. ^ Fox News Drops Franken Lawsuit, CBS News, August 25, 2003
  18. ^ Judge Denies Application Involving Martha Stewart Trial Ink Expert, Westport Now, August 11, 2004
  19. ^ Government Witness in Martha Stewart Trial Not Guilty of Lying, Westport Now, October 5, 2004
  20. ^ Korean businessman guilty in oil-for-food case, Associated Press, July 13, 2006; 5-year sentence in oil-for-food scheme Archived September 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Associated Press, February 13, 2007
  21. ^ Texas oilman Wyatt sentenced to year in prison[dead link‍], The Washington Post, November 27, 2007
  22. ^ Google Wins: Court Issues a Ringing Endorsement of Google Books, Publishers Weekly, November 14, 2013
  23. ^ Challenge to Google Books Is Declined by Supreme Court New York Times. April 19, 2016.
  24. ^ "Anil Kumar gets 2 years' probation in Galleon case - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.
  25. ^ Lessmiller, Kevin (April 25, 2016). "Tom Brady's 'Deflategate' Suspension Revived". Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  26. ^ Jouvenal, Justin (May 30, 2024). "Supreme Court rules official likely violated NRA's free speech rights". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  27. ^ "National Rifle Association of America v. Maria T. Vullo, No. 21-636 (2d Cir. 2022)". Justia Law. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  28. ^ Madoff Goes to Jail After Guilty Pleas to All Charges, The New York Times, March 12, 2009
  29. ^ Madoff Is Sentenced to 150 Years for Ponzi Scheme, The New York Times, June 29, 2009
  30. ^ Weiser, Benjamin (June 28, 2011). "Judge Recounts His Thoughts in Madoff Sentencing". The New York Times.
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Legal offices
Preceded by
Seat established by 104 Stat. 5089
 Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
1994–2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
2010–2021 		Succeeded by
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