Colleen McMahon
This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (March 2015) |
Colleen McMahon | |
---|---|
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York | |
Assumed office April 10, 2021 | |
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York | |
In office June 1, 2016 – April 10, 2021 | |
Preceded by | Loretta A. Preska |
Succeeded by | Laura Taylor Swain |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York | |
In office October 22, 1998 – April 10, 2021 | |
Appointed by | Bill Clinton |
Preceded by | John F. Keenan |
Succeeded by | vacant |
Personal details | |
Born | [1] Columbus, Ohio | July 18, 1951
Education | Ohio State University (B.A.) Harvard Law School (J.D.) |
Colleen McMahon (born July 18, 1951) is a Senior United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Education and career[]
Born in Columbus, Ohio, McMahon received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University in 1973 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1976.[2] She was in private practice in New York City from 1976 to 1995, except for a period from 1979 to 1980 when she was a speechwriter and special assistant to Donald McHenry, the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations. She was a Judge of the New York Court of Claims, New York Supreme Court, from 1995 to 1998.
Federal judicial service[]
On May 21, 1998, McMahon was nominated by President Bill Clinton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by John F. Keenan. McMahon was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 21, 1998, and received her commission the next day. She became Chief Judge on June 1, 2016. On April 1, 2021, McMahon announced that she would be taking senior status effective April 10, 2021.[3]
Notable cases[]
Among the cases over which she has presided is a defamation case brought by Drug Enforcement Administration agents against the makers of the film American Gangster, which was alleged to have portrayed such agents as being corrupt.[4][5]
She was also the Judge in the case of the so-called Newburgh four involving FBI agent Robert Fuller who was the handler of the informant in the case, Shahed Hussain.[6] In that case, at sentencing she pointed out that the FBI played a key role. She said: "It created acts of terrorism out of his fantasies of bravado and bigotry, and then made those fantasies come true." And she added: "Only the government could have made a terrorist out of Mr. Cromitie, whose buffoonery is positively Shakespearean in scope."[6]:142
References[]
- ^ Judiciary, United States Congress Senate Committee on the (July 7, 1997). "Confirmation Hearings on Federal Appointments: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, First Session, on Confirmation of Appointees to the Federal Judiciary". U.S. Government Printing Office – via Google Books.
- ^ "Where Are They Now?". The Ohio State University. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- ^ Brown, Stephen Rex. "Manhattan Federal Court gets new chief judge amid coronavirus pandemic". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
- ^ "DEA agents sue over 'American Gangster'". WPRI. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008.
- ^ "American Gangster lawsuit dismissed". ABC News/Reuters. February 18, 2008.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Aaronson, Trevor (2013). Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Manufactured War on Terrorism. Ig Publishing. pp. 150. ISBN 9781935439615.
External links[]
- Colleen McMahon at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
- 1951 births
- Living people
- American women judges
- Harvard Law School alumni
- Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
- Ohio State University alumni
- Lawyers from Columbus, Ohio
- United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton
- 20th-century American judges
- 21st-century American judges
- 20th-century women judges
- 21st-century women judges
- 21st-century American women
- United States federal judge stubs