Ronnie Abrams
Ronnie Abrams | |
---|---|
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York | |
Assumed office March 23, 2012 | |
Appointed by | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Lewis A. Kaplan |
Personal details | |
Born | New York City, New York, U.S. | June 3, 1968
Spouse | |
Parents |
|
Relatives | Dan Abrams (brother) Elliott Abrams (cousin) |
Education | Cornell University (BA) Yale University (JD) |
Ronnie Abrams (born June 3, 1968) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Early life and education
Abrams is one of two children born to Efrat Abrams and
Career
From 1998 to 2008, Abrams worked as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, where she served as Chief of the General Crimes Unit from 2005 to 2007 and Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division from 2007 to 2008. She received the United States Department of Justice Director's Award for Superior Performance for two cases. The first case involved the convictions of members of a Colombian gang wanted for the murder of a New York City police detective and some 100 armed robberies; the second case was for the convictions of leaders of the Bloods gang.[6] In 2008, Abrams returned to Davis Polk as Special Counsel for Pro Bono. She had previously worked at the firm as a litigation associate from 1994 to 1998.[4] While at Davis Polk, Ms. Abrams served as counsel to the New York State Justice Task Force, a task force created by New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman to examine the causes of wrongful convictions and make recommendations for changes to safeguard against such convictions in the future.[7] Abrams is also an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School, where she teaches about investigating and prosecuting federal criminal cases.[6][5]
Federal judicial service
In 2015, Abrams, together with another judge, created and began to run the "Young Adult Opportunity Program," a judicially supervised pretrial program for non-violent young adults charged in the Southern District of New York. The Program provides young adult defendants with access to employment, counseling, and treatment resources. Program participants, if they are successful, may receive a shorter sentence, or even a reduction, deferral or dismissal of the charges against them.[9] Abrams has also been involved in other criminal justice reform efforts, including the creation of reentry courts in her district.[10]
Notable cases
In October 2013,
In 2016, Abrams was assigned to preside over a case in which Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were accused by the plaintiff of having raped her in the 1990s, when the plaintiff was 13 years old.[15] The complaint was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice by the plaintiff in September 2016.
In January 2017, Abrams was assigned to preside over a pending
In April 2018, Abrams presided over the trial of an ex-U.S. Army Sergeant and two other men who were convicted of participating in a murder for hire of a woman in the Philippines.[22] The primary cooperating witness was Paul Le Roux, a notorious crime lord who testified about the covert world of mercenary work as well as selling missile technology to Iran and smuggling weapons to rebels and warlords.[23]
In June 2018, Abrams presided over a trial of individuals charged with helping run a scheme, masterminded by serial fraudster Jason Galanis, to defraud a Native American tribe and multiple pension funds through the issuance of $60 million worth of tribal bonds. The judge ordered a new trial for one of the men convicted,
In July 2018, Abrams presided over the trial in an action brought by Enrichetta Ravina, a former finance professor at Columbia University's Business School against Columbia and a more senior tenured professor, Geert Bekaert, for sex discrimination and retaliation. The jury found that Ravina had not been sexually harassed but that she had been retaliated against by Bekaert, who wrote at least 30 emails calling Ravina "evil" and "crazy," including to a number of industry players at the Federal Reserve Bank, top-tier universities and economic journals.[27]
In March 2023, Abrams dismissed an investor securities class action complaint in In re CarLotz, Inc. Sec. Litig. without prejudice.[28][29][30] Abrams held that plaintiffs lacked standing to sue.[31] With respect to plaintiffs’ claims under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, Abrams found that plaintiffs failed to allege that they had purchased shares "traceable" to the relevant registration statement, and held that a plaintiff can only challenge a registration statement governing securities purchased by that plaintiff if the plaintiff shows that such shares are traceable to that particular allegedly defective registration statement.[29][30][28]
Personal life
Abrams and her husband,
See also
References
- ^ Dana, Rebecca (December 18, 2006). "The Abrams Family". The New York Observer. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ a b Kolker, Carlyn (July 28, 2011). "Abrams, Gillibrand's first judicial pick, nominated to bench". Thomson Reuters. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ Schneider-Mayerson, Anna (May 2, 2005). "Ted Olson Joins Floyd Abrams In Time-Times Case". The New York Observer. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ National Archives.
- ^ a b c Ronnie Abrams at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- ^ a b "NY BigLaw Pro Bono Counsel Nominated for Federal Bench". law.com.
- ^ http://www.nyjusticetaskforce.com/2009.07.15.NYLJ.Article.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation Ronnie Abrams, of New York, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York)". senate.gov.
- ^ "Southern District Launches Program to Help Young Offenders".
- ^ https://nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/rise-court/Press%20Advisory_RISE%20Court.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Ronnie Abrams, United States District Judge (April 23, 2014). "Opinion and Order, Case 1:13-cv-7173-RA Document 50". United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
- ^ Stempel, Jonathan (April 23, 2014). "New York Fed wins dismissal of lawsuit by examiner who faulted Goldman". Reuters – via www.reuters.com.
- ^ Bernstein, Jake (April 24, 2014). "Judge Tosses Retaliation Lawsuit by Fired N.Y. Fed Examiner". ProPublica.
- ^ Stempel, Jonathan (September 23, 2015). "Ex-NY Fed bank examiner who criticized Goldman loses appeal". Reuters – via reuters.com.
- ^ Cleary, Tom (June 22, 2016). "Donald Trump Again Accused of Rape in New Federal Lawsuit [DOCUMENTS]". Heavy.
- ^ Fahrenthold, David A.; O'Connell, Jonathan (January 22, 2017). "Liberal watchdog group sues Trump, alleging he violated constitutional ban". The Washington Post.
- ^ Fahrenthold, David A.; O'Connell, Jonathan (January 23, 2017). "What is the 'Emoluments Clause'? Does it apply to President Trump?". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Lawsuit accusing Trump of violating the Constitution just expanded". CNBC. Reuters. April 18, 2017. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017.
- ^ LaFraniere, Sharon (April 18, 2017). "Watchdog Group Expands Lawsuit Against Trump". New York Times. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ^ "CREW v. Trump Adds New Plaintiff" (Press release). Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. May 10, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
- ^ "Wife of new Mueller prosecutor just bailed as judge in 2 Trump cases". Politico. August 2017.
- ^ "Ex-U.S. Soldier, two others convicted of murder-for-hire plot in Philippines". Reuters. April 19, 2018.
- ^ Feuer, Alan (April 5, 2018). "In Spellbinding Testimony, Crime Lord Details Mayhem and Murders". The New York Times.
- ^ Pierson, Brendan (November 21, 2018). "U.S. judge overturns New York man's conviction in tribal bond scheme". Reuters. Retrieved January 8, 2021 – via reuters.com.
- ^ "2nd Circ. Scraps Order Granting New Tribal Bond Scheme Trial - Law360". law360.com. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
- ^ Schreckinger, Ben (October 8, 2020). "Court reinstates fraud conviction for Hunter Biden business partner". POLITICO. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
- ^ "Columbia Bias Case Ends in $1.3 Million Payout to Professor". Bloomberg. July 27, 2018.
- ^ a b "In re CarLotz, Inc. Sec. Litig., 21-cv-5906 (RA)". Casetext. March 31, 2023.
- ^ a b Hailey Konnath. "NY Judge Tosses CarLotz Investors' Post-SPAC Suit, For Now". Law360.
- ^ a b "Investors Lack Standing To Bring Stock-Drop Claims Over SPAC Merger". Lexis Legal News. April 5, 2023.
- ^ "Southern District Of New York Dismisses Putative Class Action Arising From SPAC Merger, Holding That Plaintiffs Lacked Standing". JD Supra. April 18, 2023.
- ^ "Andres, Greg D. | Lawyers | Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP". May 25, 2023.
- ^ "WEDDINGS; Ronnie Abrams, Greg Andres". The New York Times. May 20, 2001. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ "Business & Financial News, U.S & International Breaking News | Reuters". reuters.com. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
External links
- Ronnie Abrams at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- Ronnie Abrams at Ballotpedia