Bruce Marks

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This article is about the former Pennsylvania Senator. For the American ballet choreographer & artistic director, see Bruce Marks (ballet).
Bruce S. Marks
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 2nd district
In office
April 28, 1994[1] – November 30, 1994
Preceded byWilliam Stinson
Succeeded byChristine Tartaglione
ConstituencyPart of Philadelphia
Personal details
Born (1957-03-14) March 14, 1957 (age 64)
Clarksburg, WV
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceBala Cynwyd, PA
OccupationAttorney
Websitehttp://www.marks-sokolov.com

Bruce S. Marks (born March 14, 1957)[2] is an American attorney and politician who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 2nd district from 1994 to 1995.[3][4]

Early life[]

Marks was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia.[2]

Education[]

Marks attended University of Pennsylvania where he graduated cum laude with bachelor's degrees in economics and Russian.[5] He also studied Russian at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow, Russia, in 1980. Marks also received a JD from the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania[6] cum laude, and an L.L.M. from the University of Cambridge in 1984.

Political career[]

Marks served as counsel to Senator Arlen Specter[7] from 1985 to 1987, and then again from 1988 to 1989, before starting his own political career. In 1990, he ran for the Pennsylvania State Senate, and then returned to private practice before running again in 1993.

In 1993, he was nominated by the GOP in a special election for the for the 2nd district in the Pennsylvania Senate. In the initial as well as certified official results, he trailed William G. Stinson. However, on February 17, 1994, federal judge Clarence Charles Newcomer declared him the winner, stating that the campaign of Philadelphia Democratic Party had engaged in election fraud by soliciting votes door-to-door in Philadelphian minority neighborhoods.[8][9][10] The decision was criticized as partisan by legal scholars and Democratic activists, as it invalidated all absentee ballots in the district, regardless of their validity. Critics pointed to Newcomer's history as an elected Republican and his appointment by Republican president Richard Nixon, as well as the fact that the district had not elected a Republican since 1953, and a sudden surge of Republican votes in a majority-minority district was statistically unlikely. This ruling gave Republicans control of the Pennsylvania Senate, as the 1992 elections had resulted in a tie, with Democratic lieutenant governor Mark Singel breaking ties.

Marks was seated in the Senate on April 28, 1994.[11]

In 1994, Marks was defeated for re-election by Christine Tartaglione, who has served in the seat since.

Private practice[]

Marks started his legal career at Morgan Lewis & Bockius, where was an attorney in the Business & Finance and Government Regulations sections in 1984-85 and 1987-88. In 1990, after running for Pennsylvania Senate, he joined Spector Gadon & Rosen, P.C., where he became a partner in the litigation department and remained until 1998.  Before founding Marks & Sokolov, L.L.C. in 2001, Bruce was founding member of Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev, and Marks, L.L.C. from 1998 through 2001.

Marks & Sokolov, L.L.C., founded by Marks, is a boutique law firm with offices in Philadelphia, U.S. and Moscow, Russia, specializing in international and multijurisdictional litigation and arbitration.

Marks represents Western, Russian and Ukrainian clients in commercial disputes and advises on cross-border corporate work. He has extensive litigation experience pertaining to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and testified on its extraterritorial application in Russian court in the Bank of New York Mellon matter where the Russian government sought $22.5 billion in damages arising from a money laundering scandal.[12]

For over a decade Marks has been representing applicants and respondents in multiple matters under 28 U.S.C. §1782,[13] a statute that allows litigants in foreign disputes to gain discovery in the U.S. through federal courts and authored publications on the topic.[14]

In addition, Marks has engaged in a number of litigation in having Russian bankruptcies recognized under Chapter 15 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, obtaining nationwide discovery and the turnover of assets.[15][16][17]

Representation of President Trump[]

In 2016, as a result of his connection with then-President Donald Trump arising from his 1994 campaign, Marks was engaged by the Trump campaign to defend a lawsuit filed by the Pennsylvania Democratic Party in federal court, stating that the Trump campaign and Pennsylvania Republican Party intended to engage in voter suppression targeted at minority communities in Philadelphia. 

In 2020, Marks was engaged by President Trump’s reelection campaign to advise on litigation related to the 2020 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania. Marks, along with Professor John Eastman, filed a petition with the Supreme Court of the United States challenging the 2020 election results based on false claims that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court illegally changed election law, resulting in the counting of sufficient illegal ballots to change the result and cost Trump the election. The petition contained no supporting arguments that were not previously dismissed by other federal courts and state courts, and contained no evidence so-called 'illegal ballots'. The petition was dismissed, and both the Pennsylvania Secretary of State and Congress certified Joe Biden as the president-elect.[18][19]

References[]

  1. ^ Cox, Harold (2004). "Pennsylvania Senate – 1993–1994" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  2. ^ a b "Bruce S Marks". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
  3. ^ https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/BiosHistory/MemBio.cfm?ID=4985&body=S&mobile_choice=suppress accessed August 23, 2021
  4. ^ "U.S. HIGH COURT LETS VOTE REVERSAL STAND THE SECOND DISTRICT CASE WAS THE FIRST IN WHICH A FEDERAL JUDGE HAD REVERSED AN ELECTION OUTCOME". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 18, 1995.
  5. ^ https://www.thedp.com/article/1994/02/marks-certified-as-pa-state-senator accessed August 23, 2021
  6. ^ https://www.thedp.com/article/1994/02/marks-certified-as-pa-state-senator accessed August 23, 2021
  7. ^ "'Tainted' Pa. Senate election is voided". THE BALTIMORE SUN, New York Times News Service. Archived from the original on 2020-06-04.
  8. ^ "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Legislative Journal, April 28, 1994. Session of 1994, 178TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, No 22" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-05-17.
  9. ^ "Court Lets Vote Fraud Order Stand". The Washington Post. January 18, 1995.
  10. ^ "U.S. HIGH COURT LETS VOTE REVERSAL STAND THE SECOND DISTRICT CASE WAS THE FIRST IN WHICH A FEDERAL JUDGE HAD REVERSED AN ELECTION OUTCOME". The Philadelphia Inquirer. January 18, 1995.
  11. ^ Cox, Harold (2004). "Legislatures – 1776–2004". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  12. ^ Kramer, Andrew E. (July 4, 2008). "Russia Presses U.S. Bank Over Money Laundering". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "TITLE 28—JUDICIARY AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURE; § 1782. Assistance to foreign and international tribunals and to litigants before such tribunals" (PDF). Discover U.S. Government Information.
  14. ^ "DISCRETIONARY FACTORS UNDER INTEL - CHAPTER 7 - OBTAINING EVIDENCE FOR USE IN INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNALS UNDER SECTION 1782". JURIS Arbitration Law. December 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-08-28. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  15. ^ "Bank Trustee Looks To Ramp Up Embezzlement Probe". Law360. September 27, 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-06-08.
  16. ^ "NY Real Estate Cos. Move To Limit Russian Bank Theft Inquiry". Law 360. October 5, 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-06-08.
  17. ^ "Doors Open For Russia Bank Trustee In NYC Embezzle Probe". Law 360. October 12, 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-10-13.
  18. ^ "Trump Camp Takes Gasping Pennsylvania Election Fight to Supremes". Courthouse News Service. December 21, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-12-21.
  19. ^ "Supreme Court rejects Trump election challenge cases". Associated Press News. February 22, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-02-22.
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