John Gleeson (judge)

John Gleeson (born July 14, 1953) is an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

John Gleeson
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
In office
September 29, 1994 – March 9, 2016
Appointed byBill Clinton
Preceded byJack B. Weinstein
Succeeded byDiane Gujarati
Personal details
Born (1953-07-14) July 14, 1953
New York City, New York, U.S.
EducationGeorgetown University (BA)
University of Virginia (JD)

Early life and education

Gleeson was born in the Bronx, New York. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1975, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville in 1980.

Career

Gleeson worked as a law clerk for Boyce Martin on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit from 1980 to 1981. He was in private practice of law at the firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City from 1981 to 1985. He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York from 1985 to 1994 where he was noted for his prosecution of Mafia cases, most notably that of Gambino crime boss John Gotti which resulted in Gotti's conviction.[1]

Judicial service

Gleeson was nominated by President Bill Clinton on July 22, 1994, to a seat vacated by Jack B. Weinstein. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 28, 1994, and received his commission the next day. He served until his resignation on March 9, 2016.

As a district judge, Gleeson was a critic of harsh mandatory sentencing.[2] Gleeson's ruling against the FBI in a landmark racial profiling case was reversed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Ashcroft v. Iqbal (2009). Judge Gleeson oversaw the prosecution of Jordan Belfort, famous as the "Wolf of Wall Street".[3]

In 2012, he approved a deferred prosecution agreement with HSBC which was widely criticized as being too lenient,[2] but he continued to monitor the agreement for years, in 2016 ordering reports by the bank's independent monitor to be publicly disclosed in the interest of transparency.[4] In his last days on the bench Judge Gleeson, instead of issuing a writ of audita querela,[5] created a new "federal certificate of rehabilitation" to help convicts find jobs.[6][7]

Later career

On January 4, 2016, it was announced that Gleeson planned to resign from the bench and return to private practice on March 9, 2016.[8][9] He joined white shoe firm Debevoise & Plimpton to practice white-collar crime defense.[2]

On May 11, 2020, Gleeson co-authored an op-ed concerning the Department of Justice's request to drop charges against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn; the op-ed pointed out that dismissal of charges was not automatic but would only be granted by leave of the court.[10] Two days later, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan appointed Gleeson to present arguments against the DOJ’s request to withdraw the case against Flynn and to determine if perjury charges should be brought against Flynn. In the role, Gleeson will serve as "friend of the court."[11][12]

References
  1. McFadden, Robert D. (1992-04-03). "For Gotti Prosecutors, Hard Work And Breaks Pay Off in Conviction". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  2. Protess, Ben. "Prominent U.S. Judge, Known as a Maverick, is Expected to Join a White-Shoe Firm". The New York Times (February 25, 2016 on page B3).
  3. Antilla, Susan. "Most Victims are Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Except When it Coms to Fraud". The New York Times (July 24, 2014 on page B5). Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  4. Henning, Peter J. "HSBC Case Tests Transparency of Deferred Prosecution Agreements". The New York Times (February 6, 2016). Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  5. Palazzolo, Joe (9 October 2015). "Old Writ Could Give Ex-Offenders a New Start". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  6. Palazzolo, Joe (8 March 2016). "Brooklyn Judge Issues First Federal 'Certificate of Rehabilitation'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  7. Palazzolo, Joe (23 March 2016). "An Exit Interview with a Federal Trial Judge". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  8. "Brooklyn Federal Judge Gleeson stepping down to practice law". New York Daily News. January 4, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  9. Hong, Nicole (5 January 2016). "John Gleeson, Prominent Brooklyn Federal Judge, to Step Down". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  10. Gleeson, John (May 11, 2020). "The Flynn case isn't over until the judge says it's over". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  11. Benner, Katie (2020-05-13). "Judge Appoints Outsider to Take On Justice Dept. in Flynn Case". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  12. "Court Appoints Retired Judge To Oppose Justice Department In Michael Flynn Case". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Jack B. Weinstein		 Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
1994–2016		 Succeeded by
Diane Gujarati
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