Reena Raggi

Reena Raggi
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Current Court Information:
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Title:	Judge
Position:	Seat #10
Station:	New York
Service:
Appointed by:	George W. Bush
Approval vote:	85-0-15
Active:	10/4/2002 - Present
Preceded by:	Amalya Kearse
Past post:	Eastern District of New York
Past term:	1987 - 2002
Past position:	Seat #4
Personal History
Born:	1951
Home State:	Jersey City, NJ
Bachelors:	Wellesley College '73
Law School:	Harvard Law '76

Reena Raggi (b. 1951) is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She joined the court in 2002 after being nominated by President George W. Bush. Prior to her appointment, Raggi served on the bench on the Eastern District of New York. She joined the district court in 1987 after an appointment from Ronald Reagan. At the time of appointment, she was a private practice attorney in New York.

Early life and education

Born in Jersey City, NJ in 1951, Raggi graduated from Wellesley with her Bachelor's Degree in 1973 and later graduated from Harvard Law with her juris doctorate degree in 1976.

Professional career

• Law clerk, Hon. Thomas Fairchild, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 1976-1977
• Private practice, New York City, 1977-1979
• Assistant U.S. attorney, Eastern District of New York, 1979-1986
• Chief, Narcotics Division, 1982-1984
• Chief, Special Prosecutions Division, 1984-1986
• U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (interim court appointment), 1986
• Private practice, New York City, 1986-1987

Judicial career

Second Circuit Court of Appeals

Raggi was nominated by President George W. Bush on May 1, 2002, to a seat vacated by Amalya Kearse as Kearse assumed senior status. Raggi was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 20, 2002 on a unopposed 85-0-15 vote and received commission on October 4, 2002.

Eastern District of New York

Raggi began her federal judicial career as a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. On the recommendation of U.S. Senator Al D'Amato, Raggi was nominated by President Ronald Reagan on January 20, 1987, to a seat vacated by Frank Altimari. Raggi was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 7, 1987 on a majority voice vote and received commission on May 7, 1987. She was succeeded to this post by Dora Irizarry.

Notable cases

Seinfeld case

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit      *LAPINE v. Seinfeld No. 09-4423-cv

District Judge Laura Swain tossed out a copyright infringement lawsuit against Jessica Seinfeld on September 10, 2009 after the judge found that a recipe in a cook book did not infringe on a competing author. Missy Chase Lapine sued the wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld claiming a chicken breast recipe infringed on her similar recipe and competed unfairly. The judge found that because the styles of the books differed there was no evidence that Seinfeld's wife committed plagiarism. . The judgement can be read here. The case was appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The two appeals court judges, Reena Raggi and Peter Hall, ruled against Missy Chase Lapine and affirmed the decision by Judge Swain. In 2010, Missy Chase Lapine sued Jerry Seinfeld for slander as a result of an interview Mr. Seinfeld participated in on the David Letterman television show. The New York Supreme Court dismissed the claim as being without merit in 2011. The judgement can be read here.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

External links

• New York Times, Articles about Reena Raggi
• NationMaster Encyclopedia: Reena Raggi
• Associated Press "Judge won't let city off easily in 2003 ferry crash case", January 23, 2008

References

Federal judicial offices
Preceded by: Frank Altimari	Eastern District of New York 1987–2002 Seat #4	Succeeded by: Dora Irizarry
Preceded by: Amalya Kearse	Second Circuit 2002–present Seat #10	Succeeded by: NA