John Walker

John Walker
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Current Court Information:
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Title:	Senior Judge
Position:	Seat #7
Station:	New York, NY
Service:
Appointed by:	George H.W. Bush
Active:	11/27/1989 - 10/1/2006
Chief:	2001-2006
Senior:	10/1/2006 - Present
Preceded by:	Irving Kaufman
Succeeded by:	Debra Livingston
Past post:	Southern District of New York
Past term:	1985-1989
Past position:	Seat #3
Personal History
Born:	1940
Home State:	New York, NY
Bachelors:	Yale, B.A., 1962
Law School:	U. Michigan Law, J.D., 1966
Military service:	U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, 1963-1967

John Mercer Walker, Jr. (b. 1940) is a federal appeals judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City. He joined the court in 1989 after being nominated by President George H.W. Bush. At the time of appointment, Walker served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He joined the district court in 1985 after an appointment from Ronald Reagan. At the time of his appointment, he was an Assistant secretary for the U.S. Treasury Department. He assumed senior status on October 1, 2006.

Early life and education

Born in New York City, New York, Walker graduated from Yale University with his Bachelor's degree in 1962, and later from University of Michigan Law School with his Juris Doctor degree in 1966.

Military service

From 1963 to 1967, Walker served as a Private, First Class in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.

Professional career

Walker served as State Counsel for the Republic of Botswana as part of an Africa-Asia Public Service Fellowship from 1966 to 1968. Walker was a private practice attorney in New York City, New York from 1969 to 1970. Walker worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York with the U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuting Criminal cases from 1970 to 1975. Walker resumed private practice from 1975 to 1981. In 1981, Walker was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to serve as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury, until 1985. In 1987, President Reagan appointed Walker to serve as Special Counsel for the Administrative Conference of the United States until 1992.

Judicial career

Second Circuit Court of Appeals

On the recommendation of U.S. Senator Al D'Amato, Walker was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit by President George H.W. Bush on September 21, 1989 to a seat vacated by Irving Kaufman. Walker was confirmed by the Senate on November 21, 1989 on unanimous consent of the Senate and received commission on November 27, 1989. He assumed senior status on October 1, 2006. He was succeeded to this post by Debra Livingston.

Southern District of New York

On the recommendation of U.S. Senator Al D'Amato, Walker was nominated to the Southern District of New York by President Ronald Reagan on June 25, 1985 to a seat vacated by Morris Lasker. Walker was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 19, 1985 on a senate vote and received commission on July 22, 1985. He was succeeded to this post by Sonia Sotomayor.

Notable cases

Citigroup liability case

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit      *In re Citigroup ERISA Litigation 662 F. 3d 128

Judge Walker authored the Second Circuit Court's opinion in a ruling declaring that Citigroup was not liable to workers who lost money on their 401(k) plans due to the company's exposure to toxic debt. The court split 2-1 in the decision, with Judge Jose Cabranes agreeing with Judge Walker and Judge Chester Straub dissenting. The case was brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by workers who claimed that Citigroup should not have offered bank stock in its retirement plans because it knew its subprime mortgage exposure made the stock a dangerous investment. The court disagreed, Judge Walker wrote that the workers did not show that Citigroup "either knew or should have known that Citigroup was in the sort of dire situation that required them to override plan terms in order to limit participants' investments in Citigroup stock." Marc Machiz, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he expects the case to be reheard by the full Second Circuit Court. Judge Cabranes sided with with Judge John Walker in the Second Circuit Court's ruling declaring that Citigroup was not liable to workers who lost money on their 401(k) plans due to the company's exposure to toxic debt. The court split 2-1 in the decision, with Judge Cabranes and Judge Walker on one side, and Judge Chester Straub dissenting. The case was brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by workers who claimed that Citigroup should not have offered bank stock in its retirement plans because it knew its subprime mortgage exposure made the stock a dangerous investment. Judge Walker, who authored the court's opinion, wrote that the workers did not show that Citigroup "either knew or should have known that Citigroup was in the sort of dire situation that required them to override plan terms in order to limit participants' investments in Citigroup stock." Marc Machiz, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he expects the case to be reheard by the full Second Circuit Court. Judge Straub was the dissenting voice in a 2-1 split in the Second Circuit Court's ruling declaring that Citigroup was not liable to workers who lost money on their 401(k) plans due to the company's exposure to toxic debt. The case was brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by workers who claimed that Citigroup should not have offered bank stock in its retirement plans because it knew its subprime mortgage exposure made the stock a dangerous investment. Judge John Walker, who authored the court's opinion, wrote that the workers did not show that Citigroup "either knew or should have known that Citigroup was in the sort of dire situation that required them to override plan terms in order to limit participants' investments in Citigroup stock." Judge Walker was joined by Judge Jose Cabranes in the opinion. Marc Machiz, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said he expects the case to be reheard by the full Second Circuit Court.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

External links

• Judge John M. Walker, Jr. Biography at the Federal Judicial Center

References

Federal judicial offices
Preceded by: Morris Lasker	Southern District of New York 1985–1989	Succeeded by: Sonia Sotomayor
Preceded by: Irving Kaufman	Second Circuit 1989–2006 Seat #7	Succeeded by: Debra Livingston