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Arun Subramanian

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Arun Subramanian

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Tenure

2023 - Present

Years in position

Education

Bachelor's

Case Western Reserve University, 2001

Law

Columbia Law School, 2004

Contact

Official website

Arun Subramanian is a judge on theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He was nominated to the court by PresidentJoe Biden (D) on September 6, 2022, and confirmed by theUnited States Senate on March 7, 2023, by a vote of 59 - 37.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] Subramanian was one of 235Article III judges nominated by PresidentJoe Biden (D) and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. To see a full list of judges appointed byJoe Biden,click here.

Subramanian was a partner at Susman Godfrey LLP.^[5]

TheUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York is one of 94U.S. District Courts. They are the generaltrial courts of theUnited States federal courts. To learn more about the court,click here.

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (2023-present)

See also:Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden

On September 6, 2022, PresidentJoe Biden (D) nominated Arun Subramanian to theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Subramanian's nomination was returned to the president at thesine die adjournment of theU.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[1] Subramanian received commission on April 13, 2023.^[6]

The president renominated Subramanian on January 23, 2023.^[2] To read more about the federal nominations process,click here.

Nomination Tracker

Nominee Information
Name: Arun Subramanian
Court:United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Progress
Confirmed 182 days after nomination.
ANominated: September 6, 2022
AABA Rating:Well Qualified
Questionnaire:Questionnaire
AHearing: December 13, 2022
Hearing Transcript:Hearing Transcript
QFRs:(Hover over QFRs to read more)

AReported: February 9, 2023
AConfirmed: March 7, 2023
AVote: 59 - 37

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Subramanian by a vote of 59 - 37 on March 7, 2023.^[4] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website,click here.

Arun Subramanian confirmation vote (March 7, 2023)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	45	0	3
Republican	11	37	1
Independent	3	0	0
Total	59	37	4

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

TheSenate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Subramanian's nomination on December 13, 2022. Subramanian's nomination was returned to the president at thesine die adjournment of theU.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[7]

The president renominated Subramanian on January 23, 2023. In a committee hearing on February 9, 2023, Subramanian was reported to the full Senate, after a 16-5 committee vote.^[3]

Nomination

On September 6, 2022, PresidentJoe Biden (D) nominated Arun Subramanian to theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Subramanian's nomination was returned to the president at thesine die adjournment of theU.S. Senate on January 3, 2023.^[1] The president renominated Subramanian on January 23, 2023.^[2]

Arun Subramanian was nominated to replace JudgeAlison J. Nathan, who was elevated to become a judge for theUnited States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. Nathan was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 23, 2022.^[1]

TheAmerican Bar Association (ABA) rated SubramanianWell Qualified.^[8] To read more about ABA ratings,click here.

Biography

Education

Subramanian earned a J.D. from Columbia Law School in 2004 and a bachelor's degree from Case Western Reserve University in 2001.

Professional career

2023-present: Judge,United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
2007-2023: Partner at Susman Godfrey LLP
2006-2007: Law clerk for the Supreme Court of the United States
2005-2006: Law clerk for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
2004-2005: Law clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit^[1]

About the court

Southern District of New York
Second Circuit

Judgeships
Posts: 28
Judges: 25
Vacancies: 3
Judges
Chief:Laura Swain
Active judges:Ronnie Abrams,Vernon Broderick,Andrew L. Carter Jr.,Jessica Clarke,John Peter Cronan,Paul A. Engelmayer,Katherine Failla,Jesse Furman,Margaret Garnett,Philip M. Halpern,Dale Ho,Kenneth Karas,John Koeltl,Lewis Liman,James Paul Oetken,Edgardo Ramos,Jennifer Rearden,Jennifer Rochon,Nelson S. Roman,Arun Subramanian,Laura Swain,Analisa Torres,Jeannette Vargas,Mary Kay Vyskocil,Gregory Howard Woods Senior judges: Richard Berman,Vincent L. Briccetti,Naomi Buchwald,Valerie Caproni,Kevin Castel,Denise Cote,Paul Crotty,George Daniels,Paul Gardephe,Charles Haight,Alvin Hellerstein,Lewis Kaplan,John Keenan,Victor Marrero,Colleen McMahon,Loretta Preska,Jed Rakoff,Lorna Schofield,Cathy Seibel,Louis Stanton,Sidney Stein,Kimba Wood

TheUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York is one of 94United States district courts. The Southern District is one of the most influential and active federal district courts in the United States, largely because of its jurisdiction over New York's major financial centers. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit based in Lower Manhattan at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Federal Courthouse.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of the Southern District of New York (click for larger map)

The Southern District of New York hasoriginal jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

The court shares geographic jurisdiction over New York City with theU.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which manages Brooklyn, Queens, and Richmond (Staten Island) counties, along with Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island.

To read opinions published by this court, clickhere.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by theSenate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends ablue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.

Noteworthy cases

Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking trial (2024)

On July 2, 2025, rapper and business executive Sean "Diddy" Combs was found guilty of two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. JudgeArun Subramanian denied Combs bail and ordered him to remain in jail until his sentencing.^[9] Combs was sentenced to four years and two months in prison.^[10]

On September 16, 2024, Combs was arrested and indicted on counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, also known as a violation of the Mann Act. This followed multiple allegations of misconduct since November 2023 and FBI raids on his two homes in March 2024.^[11] Combs was alleged to have used his money, influence, and connections to engage in sex trafficking, abuse, and other crimes since at least 2004.^[12]Cite error: Invalid<ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many In addition to the federal criminal trial, several related lawsuits were filed against Combs.

Combs denied all allegations and pleaded not guilty to all charges in the initial indictment. Prior to his arrest, Combs posted to Instagram, saying, "I did not do any of the awful things being alleged. I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”^[11]

On November 27, 2024, Combs was denied bail for the third time as JudgeArun Subramanian found evidence that there would be a risk of witness tampering.^[13] He was previously denied bail twice following his arrest in September 2024.^[14]

On January 30, 2025, the prosecution filed an expanded indictment. There were no new charges, but additional allegations of criminal behavior were included.^[15] He pleaded not guilty at the arraignment on March 14, 2025.^[16] On April 4, 2025, the indictment was expanded again with the charges being one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex-trafficking, and two counts of violating the Mann Act.^[17]