John Sinatra
2019 - Present
4
John L. Sinatra, Jr. is a judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. President Donald Trump (R) nominated Sinatra to a seat on this court on May 10, 2018.[1] The U.S. Senate confirmed Sinatra by a 75-18 vote on December 4, 2019.[2] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.
The United States District Court for the Western District of New York is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the Western District of New York, click here.
Sinatra was a partner with Hodgson Russ from 2008 to 2019.
Judicial nominations and appointments
United States District Court for the Western District of New York (2018)
- See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump
On May 10, 2018, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Sinatra to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of New York.[1] The U.S. Senate confirmed Sinatra on December 4 by a 75-18 vote.[2] He received commission the next day.[3] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.
 |
| Nominee Information |
| Name: John L. Sinatra, Jr. |
| Court: United States District Court for the Western District of New York |
| Progress |
| Confirmed 573 days after nomination. |
 Nominated: May 10, 2018
|
| ABA Rating: Unanimously Qualified
|
| Questionnaire: Questionnaire |
| Hearing: August 1, 2018
|
| QFRs: QFRs (Hover over QFRs to read more) |
| Reported: June 20, 2019 (second)/ September 13, 2018 (first) |
| Confirmed: December 4, 2019
|
| Vote: 75-18
|
Confirmation vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed Sinatra on December 4, 2019, on a vote of 75-18.[2] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.
| Sinatra confirmation vote (December 4, 2019) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Yea | Nay | No vote | ||||||
 Democratic |
24 | 18 | 3 | ||||||
 Republican |
50 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
 Independent |
1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 75 | 18 | 7 | ||||||
Opposition from a home-state senator
- See also: Blue slip (federal judicial nominations)
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted against Sinatra. Gillibrand said she was concerned about Sinatra's affiliation with The Federalist Society. "As a member of the Federalist Society, Sinatra’s views are far outside the judicial mainstream and he has expressed pro-corporation views in the past. The federal judiciary must be fair and impartial, and I have deep concerns that he would not represent the values of New York State," Gillibrand said.[4]
Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) supported Sinatra's nomination. Schumer's spokeswoman, Allison Biasotti, said Sinatra "has strong legal credentials, broad bipartisan support in Western New York and the respect of his hometown, Buffalo, where he was born, raised and educated. His addition to the Western District federal bench will increase the productivity of that court and speed access to decisions for those seeking legal redress."[4]
Change in Senate rules
Sinatra was confirmed to a U.S. District Court under a new precedent the Senate established.
On April 3, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted 51-48 in favor of a change to chamber precedent lowering the maximum time allowed for debate on executive nominees to posts below the Cabinet level and on nominees to district court judgeships from 30 hours after invoking cloture to two.[5]
The change was passed under a procedure, often referred to as the nuclear option, that requires 51 votes rather than 60.[6]
It was the third use of the nuclear option in Senate history. In 2013, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to confirm presidential nominees, except those to the Supreme Court. In 2017, it was used to eliminate the 60-vote threshold required to confirm Supreme Court nominees.[7] For more, see Filibuster and reconciliation in the United States Congress.
Senate Judiciary Committee hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Sinatra's nomination on August 1, 2018. His nomination was reported out of committee on September 13, 2018, by a 16-5 vote.[8][9] The committee voted a second time, 16-6, to advance his nomination to the full Senate on June 20, 2019.[10]
Nomination
President Donald Trump (R) nominated Sinatra to the United States District Court for the Western District of New York on May 10, 2018.[1] Sinatra was nominated to succeed Judge William Skretny, who assumed senior status on March 8, 2015.[9]
At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on January 3, 2019, the Senate returned Sinatra's nomination to the president.[9][11]
Trump announced his intent to renominate Sinatra on April 8, 2019.[12] The second nomination was officially sent to the Senate on May 21, 2019.[13]
The American Bar Association unanimously rated Sinatra qualified for the position.[14] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.
Early life and education
Sinatra was born in 1972 in Buffalo, New York. He received his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1993. He obtained his J.D., cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law in 1996.[1][15]
Professional career
- 2019-present: Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York
- 2008-2019: Partner, Hodgson Russ, LLP
- 2007-2008: Senior counsel, United States Department of Commerce
- 1998-2007: Associate, Jones Day
- 1996-1998: Law clerk to the judges on the New York Court of Appeals[1][15]
Associations
- 2012-present: Advisory board member, American Red Cross, Western New York Chapter
- 2012-present: Director, St. Thomas More Guild, Inc.
- 2008-present: Member, Erie County (New York) Bar Association
- 2008-present: Member, New York State Bar Association
- 1998-2007: Member, Cleveland (Ohio) Bar Association
- 1993-present: Member, The Federalist Society[15]
About the court
| Western District of New York |
|---|
| Second Circuit |
|
| Judgeships |
| Posts: 4 |
| Judges: 3 |
| Vacancies: 1 |
| Judges |
| Chief: Elizabeth A. Wolford |
| Active judges: John Sinatra, Lawrence Joseph Vilardo, Elizabeth A. Wolford Senior judges: |
The United States District Court for the Western District of New York is one of 94 United States district courts. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit based in Lower Manhattan at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Federal Courthouse.
The Western District of New York has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.
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 the Senate 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 a blue 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.
See also
- United States District Court for the Western District of New York
- United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Biography from the Federal Judicial Center
- LinkedIn profile
- Biography from Hodgson Russ LLP (archived July 2018)
- United States District Court for the Western District of New York
- United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Fourteenth Wave of Judicial Nominees, Thirteenth Wave of United States Attorney Nominees, and Eighth Wave of United States Marshal Nominees," May 10, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Congress.gov, "PN783 — John L. Sinatra Jr. — The Judiciary," accessed December 5, 2019
- ↑ Federal Judicial Center, "Sinatra, John Leonard, Jr." accessed December 9, 2019
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Buffalo News, "Senate confirms Sinatra as federal judge; Gillibrand votes no," December 4, 2019
- ↑ The Hill, "GOP triggers 'nuclear option' to speed up Trump picks," April 3, 2019
- ↑ Axios, "Senate GOP invokes 'nuclear option' to speed up confirmations of Trump nominees," April 3, 2019
- ↑ NBC News, "McConnell to use 'nuclear option' to confirm lower-level nominees," April 2, 2019
- ↑ U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Results of the Executive Business Meeting," September 13, 2018
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Congress.gov, "PN1966 — John L. Sinatra Jr. — The Judiciary," accessed September 14, 2018
- ↑ U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Results of Executive Business Meeting," June 20, 2019
- ↑ Under Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, pending nominations are returned to the president if the Senate adjourns sine die or recesses for more than 30 days. Congressional Research Service, "Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure," April 11, 2017
- ↑ White House, "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominations," April 8, 2019
- ↑ White House, "Twelve Nominations Sent to the Senate," May 21, 2019
- ↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III and Article I judicial nominees: 115th Congress," accessed September 14, 2018
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, "Questionnaire for judicial nominees: John Sinatra," accessed April 9, 2019
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
United States District Court for the Western District of New York 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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