Denny Chin | |
|---|---|
| 陳卓光 | |
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| Senior Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | |
| Assumed office June 1, 2021 | |
| Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | |
| In office April 23, 2010 – June 1, 2021 | |
| Appointed by | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Robert D. Sack |
| Succeeded by | Myrna Pérez |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York | |
| In office August 10, 1994 – April 26, 2010 | |
| Appointed by | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | J. Paul Oetken |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Check Kong Chin (1954-04-13)April 13, 1954 (age 71) |
| Spouse | Kathy Hirata |
| Education | Princeton University (BA) Fordham University (JD) |
Denny Chin (Chinese: 陳卓光; born April 13, 1954)[1] is aseniorUnited States circuit judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, based inNew York City. He was a United States District Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York before joining the federal appeals bench. PresidentBill Clinton nominated Chin to the district court on March 24, 1994, and Chin was confirmed August 9 of that same year. On October 6, 2009, PresidentBarack Obama nominated Chin to the Second Circuit. He was confirmed on April 22, 2010, by theUnited States Senate, filling the vacancy created by JudgeRobert D. Sack who assumedsenior status.[2][3][4] Chin was the firstAsian American appointed as a United States District Judge outside of theNinth Circuit.
Chin was born in 1954 inKowloon,Hong Kong, and came to the U.S. in 1956. He graduated fromStuyvesant High School in 1971.[5] He graduatedmagna cum laude with a B.A. in psychology fromPrinceton University in 1975 after completing a 130-page long senior thesis titled "The Old Ones of Chinatown: A Study of the Elderly Chinese."[6] While a student at Princeton, Chin was a staff writer and later managing editor atThe Daily Princetonian.[7] In 1978, Chin graduated fromFordham University School of Law with aJuris Doctor, where he was the Managing Editor of theFordham Law Review. Chin currently teaches first year Legal Writing at Fordham as an adjunct professor.[8][9]
Following a 1978 to 1980 clerkship with JudgeHenry Frederick Werker in the Southern District, Chin worked for the law firm ofDavis Polk & Wardwell from 1980 to 1982.[8] He was anAssistant United States Attorney for the Southern District from 1982 to 1986.[9] In 1986, Chin left the U.S. Attorney's Office and started a law firm, Campbell, Patrick & Chin, with two colleagues from the U.S. Attorney's Office. In 1990, he joined the law firm Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C., where he specialized in labor and employment law and represented employees and unions.[8][9]
PresidentBill Clinton nominated Chin to the Southern District bench on March 24, 1994, to a new seat created by 104 Stat. 5089. TheUnited States Senate confirmed Chin on August 9, 1994, and Chin received his commission the next day. His service as a district court judge was terminated on April 26, 2010, when he was elevated to the court of appeals.[9]
On October 6, 2009, PresidentBarack Obama nominated Chin to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. TheUnited States Senate Committee on the Judiciary reported Chin's nomination to the full Senate on December 10, 2009[10] and he was confirmed by a 98–0 vote on April 22, 2010.[11] He received his judicial commission on April 23, 2010.[9] He was sworn in as a Circuit Judge on April 26, 2010.[12] Chin assumedsenior status on June 1, 2021.[9][13]
In 2001, Chin rejected a motion by theParents Television Council (PTC) to dismiss a lawsuit that the World Wrestling Federation (nowWorld Wrestling Entertainment) filed against it.[14] At the time, the PTC had been campaigning for advertisers to withdraw sponsorship of WWE's flagship programSmackDown because it believed that the program caused the violent deaths of four children. Chin's ruling came on the grounds that WWF had a sound basis in suing the PTC overdefamation, interference with business, andcopyright infringement.[15] PTC and WWE settled out of court and, as part of the settlement agreement, the PTC paid WWF $3.5 millionUSD and PTC president Bozell issued a public apology.[16]
InFox v. Franken, Chin deniedFox News Channel (who alleged atrademark violation) aninjunction againstAl Franken's BookLies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.[17]
Chin also presided over the criminal prosecution of Larry Stewart, the handwriting expert who was accused of committing perjury during the trial ofMartha Stewart (no relation).[18] Larry Stewart was acquitted by a jury.[19]
Chin presided over the criminal trial ofPak Dong-seon in connection with Pak's alleged involvement in the scandal surrounding theUnited NationsOil-for-Food Program. Pak was convicted by a jury and sentenced by Chin to 5 years in prison.[20]
Chin dismissed the suitSam Sloan vs.Paul Truong andSusan Polgar in which Sloan accused Susan Polgar and Paul Truong of posting thousands of obscene "Fake Sam Sloan" remarks in his name over a two-year period in an effort to win election to the board of theUnited States Chess Federation (Polgar and Truong were elected to the board and Sloan was defeated).
Chin presided over the criminal trial ofOscar Wyatt, theTexas oil executive accused of making kick-backs to theSaddam Hussein regime during the UN Oil-For-Food Program. In the middle of his trial, Wyatt changed his plea to guilty as part of a plea bargain with the government.[21]
He was assigned theGoogle Book Search Settlement Agreement case on January 8, 2009, after the death of the previous supervising judge. On March 23, 2011, Chin rejected Google's plan to digitize every book published, saying the plan violated copyright laws. In November 2013, Chin dismissedAuthors Guild et al. v. Google.[22] On April 18, 2016, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal.[23]
In 2012, Chin presided over the criminal sentencing ofAnil Kumar, a senior executive ofMcKinsey and Company in theGalleon Groupinsider trading investigation. Chin sentenced Kumar to 2 years of probation.[24]
In 2016, Chin joined the panel that upheldTom Brady's suspension by NFL CommissionerRoger Goodell for theDeflatgate scandal.[25]
In May 2024, theSupreme Court ruled unanimously in theFirst Amendment case ofNational Rifle Association of America v. Vullo, favoring the NRA's case against New York insurance regulator Maria Vullo. This ruling overturned the decision of Chin and his two fellow Second Circuit jurists,Susan Carney andRosemary Pooler.[26][27]
In 2009, Chin presided overU.S. v. Madoff. Madoff admitted to committing securities fraud via aPonzi scheme starting in the early 1990s, which involved potentially as much as $65 billion. On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal charges relating to the scheme. Following his pleading, Chin revoked Madoff's $10 million bail and ordered him to report immediately to jail at the request of the federal prosecutors, citing that Madoff had both the resources and the incentive to flee before his formal sentencing.[28] On June 29, 2009, Chin rejected a sentencing request from Madoff's attorneys for between 12-20 years imprisonment with the possibility of parole, and accepted the prosecutor's recommendation to sentence Madoff to a prison term of 150 years which he bluntly stated would put Madoff behind bars until he died.[29] Chin explained that imposing the maximum sentence on Madoff was appropriate because he had concluded that Madoff's crimes were "staggering" and "extraordinary evil" and wanted the sentence to have a stronger deterrent effect.[30]
In 2020, Madoff requestedcompassionate release due to terminal kidney disease. Chin denied the request, writing that his sentence was meant to ensure Madoff died in prison, and that he had no subsequent reason to believe he deserved any differently.[31]
Chin is married to Kathy Hirata Chin, a partner atCadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. Together, they and several others from the Asian American Bar Association of New York annually produce and perform trial reenactments of important cases like the trial ofEthel Rosenberg and theMinoru Yasui case.[32]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)| Legal offices | ||
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| New seat | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York 1994–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 2010–2021 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
