Lawrence Kahn

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Lawrence Kahn
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Current Court Information:
United States District Court for the Northern District of New York
Title:   Senior Judge
Service:
Appointed by:   Bill Clinton
Active:   08/01/1996 - 07/31/2007
Senior:   08/01/2007 - Present
Preceded by:   Neal McCurn
Succeeded by:   Glenn Suddaby
Past post:   Supreme Court of the State of New York, Justice
Past term:   1980 - 1996
Personal History
Born:   1937
Home State:   Troy, NY
Undergraduate:   Union College, A.B., 1959
Law School:   Harvard Law School, J.D., 1962

Contents

Lawrence E. Kahn is a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. He joined the court in 1996 after being nominated by President Bill Clinton. He is serving on senior status.

Early life and education

Kahn graduated from Union with his Bachelor's degree in 1959 and later graduated from Harvard Law with his Juris Doctor degree in 1962. Kahn also had additional studies at Oxford-England. [1]

Professional career

Kahn began his legal career as a private practice licensed in the State of New York from 1963 to 1973 before becoming assistant corporation counsel for the City of Albany from 1963 to 1968. Kahn began his judicial career as a surrogate judge for the Albany County Surrogate's Court from 1973 to 1979 before being appointed by New York Governor Mario Cuomo as a Justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1980 to 1996. [1]

Judicial career

Northern District of New York

On the recommendation of U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Kahn was nominated by President Bill Clinton on April 18, 1996, to a seat vacated by Neal McCurn. Kahn was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 16, 1996 on a majority voice vote and received commission on August 1, 1996. [1][2]

Notable cases

A notable case on this page needs to be updated.



Rosary case

Judge Kahn ordered a middle school student in Schenectady, New York to be reinstated after school officials suspended him for wearing a rosary on June 1, 2010. Officials at the middle school where Raymond Hoiser attended claimed that the rosary is considered to be a gang symbol. The American Center for Law and Justice filed the lawsuit on Hoiser's behalf. The judge scheduled an additional hearing on June 11, 2010, to determine if the Schenectady School District violated Hoiser's civil rights.[3]

New York furloughs

Judge Kahn issued a ruling on May 12, 2010 that blocked an order from New York Governor David Paterson to furlough state employees for one day to save the state money. Paterson claimed that it was necessary to keep the state from running out of money at the end of May 2010. Unions representing state employees and public university teachers filed suit claiming that the furloughs were illegal. As part of the ruling, Governor Paterson cannot issue any more furloughs until another hearing scheduled for May 26, 2010.[4]

Governor Paterson railed the judge's decision and said the ruling was a mistake. However, Paterson feels that the ruling could change at the hearing scheduled for May 26, 2010. Also, the Governor claims that Judge Kahn usurped his power by forcing four percent pay raises in an emergency spending bill.[5]

On May 28, 2010, Judge Kahn upheld his ruling to ban Governor Paterson from ordering furloughs on state employees in New York. Kahn cited that the Governor's plan violated the contract clause of the U.S. Constitution and explained that furloughs have serious consequences. The judge also said the furlough plan was limited to generalities and that it relied on the false assumption that all other measures to provide cost savings for the State of New York would fail.[6]

New York land trust

Judge Kahn ruled that the State of New York had no authority to hold 13,000 acres of land that covers the Oneida-New York Nation in trust. The state of New York sued the US Interior Department claiming that Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthome had no authority over the land trust. Kahn found that there was not evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to find the Interior Department over-stepped its authority over the land trust. [7]

See also

External links

References

Federal judicial offices
Preceded by:
Neal McCurn
Northern District of New York
1996–2007
Succeeded by:
Glenn Suddaby


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