Colleen McMahon

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.

Colleen McMahon
McMahon in 2021
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 byLoretta A. Preska
Succeeded byLaura 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 byBill Clinton
Preceded byJohn F. Keenan
Succeeded byJessica G. L. Clarke
Personal details
Born (1951-07-18) July 18, 1951[1]
Columbus, Ohio
EducationOhio State University (BA)
Harvard Law School (JD)

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 on October 22, 1998.[3] She was the Chief Judge from June 1, 2016 to April 10, 2021.[3] On April 1, 2021, McMahon announced her intention to assume senior status on April 10, 2021.[4][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.[5][6]

In 2011, she was the judge in the case of the Newburgh four, Onta Williams, Laguerre Payen and David Williams, and James Cromitie. This terrorism case involved FBI agent Robert Fuller as the handler of informant Shahed Hussain.[7] At sentencing she pointed out that the FBI played a key role in creating the crimes of which the defendants were convicted. 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."[7]: 142  In July 2023, McMahon ordered the release of three of the four defendants, ruling that the FBI had employed unscrupulous methods to manipulate them into committing illegal acts, including using Hussain, whom McMahon described as "unsavory."[8]

McMahon ruled in December 2021 that a bankruptcy judge did not have authority to give the Sackler family immunity in civil liability cases related to their involvement in Purdue Pharma.[9]

In February 2023, Judge McMahon criticized the New York City Department of Corrections for failing to promptly provide information on the identities of staffers who may have been involved in activities described in a class action lawsuit over substandard conditions and illegal detentions at Rikers Island. ""There is no agency that ... has been a more troublesome litigant in terms of, and you will excuse my language, 'F--- you, judge, I'll do what I want' in that period than DOC,” McMahon said in open court.""[10]

References
  1. 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. ISBN 9780160385940 – via Google Books.
  2. "Where Are They Now?". The Ohio State University. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  3. Colleen McMahon at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  4. Brown, Stephen Rex. "Manhattan Federal Court gets new chief judge amid coronavirus pandemic". nydailynews.com. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
  5. "DEA agents sue over 'American Gangster'". WPRI. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008.
  6. "American Gangster lawsuit dismissed". ABC News/Reuters. February 18, 2008.
  7. Aaronson, Trevor (2013). Terror Factory: Inside the FBI's Manufactured War on Terrorism. Ig Publishing. pp. 150. ISBN 9781935439615.
  8. McKinley, Jesse (July 27, 2023). "Judge Orders Release of Three of 'Newburgh Four,' Criticizing F.B.I." The New York Times. New York, NY.
  9. Hoffman, Jan (16 December 2021). "Judge Overturns Purdue Pharma's Opioid Settlement". New York Times. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  10. Rayman, Graham (3 February 2023). "Federal judge f-bombs Correction Department, NYC officials for withholding information in Rikers Island case". New York Daily News. Retrieved 4 February 2023.


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