Role Judge Name Raymond Lohier | Spouse(s) Donna Hae Kyun Lee | |
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Alma mater Harvard UniversityNew York University | ||
Raymond Joseph Lohier Jr. (born December 1, 1965) is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and formerly an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He was the chief of the securities and commodities fraud task force in the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's office. He was recommended by Sen. Charles Schumer for the nomination to the seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that was vacated by Sonia Sotomayor when she was elevated to the Supreme Court of the United States. Lohier is the first Haitian American to serve as an Article III Federal Judge and to be confirmed (unanimously) by the United States Senate as a Judge for the Second Circuit in New York.
Contents
- Early life and education
- Professional career
- Federal judicial service
- Indefinite detention ruling
- Personal
- References
Early life and education
Lohier Jr. was born in Montreal, Canada, of Haitian heritage. He graduated from Friends' Central School in Philadelphia in 1984. From Friends' Central he went on to earn an Artium Baccalaureus degree cum laude from Harvard College and then earned a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law, where he served as Editor in Chief of the NYU Annual Survey of American Law. He worked as a law clerk for Judge Robert P. Patterson, Jr. of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Professional career
Early in his career, Lohier worked as an associate in the law firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. He became an Assistant United States Attorney in 2000, and later became deputy chief and then chief of the narcotics unit. He later became deputy chief and then chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.
Lohier may be most known in his career at the U.S. Attorney's office for having helped to oversee the Bernard Madoff investigation and also for having worked as a prosecutor on the Marc Stuart Dreier case.
Federal judicial service
On February 8, 2010, Schumer announced that he would recommend Lohier for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that was vacated by Sonia Sotomayor. On March 10, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Lohier to that seat. On December 19, 2010, Lohier was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 92-0. He received his judicial commission on December 20, 2010.
Indefinite detention ruling
On September 17, 2012, Lohier issued a temporary stay to a District Court ruling which had enjoined the enforcement of the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012. The stay will remain in effect until a three judge panel of the Second Circuit formally rules on the provision.
Personal
Lohier's wife, Donna Hae Kyun Lee, teaches law at City University of New York School of Law. The couple married in 1999. They live in Brooklyn.