Patti B. Saris

Patti B. Saris (born July 20, 1951) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She is also the former chair of the United States Sentencing Commission.[1]

Patti Saris
Saris in 2015
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
In office
January 1, 2013  December 31, 2019
Preceded byMark Lawrence Wolf
Succeeded byF. Dennis Saylor IV
Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission
In office
December 22, 2010  January 3, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byWilliam K. Sessions III
Succeeded byWilliam H. Pryor Jr. (Acting)
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Assumed office
November 24, 1993
Appointed byBill Clinton
Preceded byWalter Jay Skinner
Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
In office
1986–1989
Personal details
Born (1951-07-20) July 20, 1951
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
SpouseArthur I. Segel
EducationRadcliffe College (AB) Harvard University (JD)

Early life and education

Saris was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She attended Girls' Latin School,[2] and later received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe College in 1973 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1976.

Saris was a law clerk for Judge Robert Braucher of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1976 to 1977. She was in private practice with the law firm of Foley, Hoag & Eliot in Boston from 1977 to 1979, served as Staff counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 1979 to 1981, and then returned to private practice with the firm of Berman, Dittmar & Engel, P.C. from 1981 to 1982.

Saris then served as Assistant United States Attorney of the District of Massachusetts from 1982 to 1986. She was Chief of the Civil Division from 1984 to 1986. From 1986 to 1989 she was a United States magistrate judge for the District of Massachusetts. She was an associate justice in the Trial Court of Massachusetts, Superior Court Department from 1989 to 1993.

Federal judicial service

On the recommendation of Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, Saris was nominated as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts by President Bill Clinton on October 27, 1993, to a seat vacated by Walter Jay Skinner. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 20, 1993, and received her commission on November 24, 1993. She served as Chief Judge from January 1, 2013, until December 31, 2019.[3]

In 2008, Saris sat by designation with the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in the case of Cook v. Gates,[4] which upheld the "Don't ask, Don't tell" (DADT) policy (Title 10, Section 654) against due process and equal protection Fifth Amendment challenges and a free speech challenge under the First Amendment, and which found that no earlier Supreme Court decision held that sexual orientation is a suspect or quasi-suspect classification.[5] Saris concurred with the majority regarding due process and equal protection, while dissenting with the rejection of the First Amendment challenge, because "if the Act were applied to punish statements about one's status as a homosexual, it would constitute a content-based speech restriction subject to strict scrutiny" and that "the availability of an administrative remedy does not defeat a First Amendment claim that the government is systematically applying the Act in such a way that it unconstitutionally burdens protected speech".[6]

Among the notable cases presided over by Saris on the District Court was a 2018 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil suit against Greek Orthodox priest Emmanuel Lemelson, regarding a short sale.[7][8] After a federal jury returned a mixed verdict,[9][10] the SEC sought $2.3 million in penalties against Lemelson, to include disgorgement and interest[11] along with a lifetime injunction barring Lemelson from the securities industry.[12] Saris, noting that jurors did not accept the SEC's argument that Lemelson had engaged in a "short and distort" scheme,[13] rejected the SEC's proposed penalty, fining Lemelson only $160,000, while enjoining Lemelson and his firm from further securities violations for the next five years.[14]

United States Sentencing Commission

In April 2010, President Obama nominated Saris as Commissioner and Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission. She was confirmed by the Senate on December 22, 2010[15][16] and sworn in by Justice Elena Kagan on February 16, 2011.[17] Her term expired on January 3, 2017.

Personal life

Saris has lived in Brookline, Massachusetts, and she has four children.[18] She enjoys reading books, and in one case had read the novel of a convicted drug kingpin who later stood before her seeking a reduction in his life sentence.[19]

See also

References

  1. "Saris to Chair United States Sentencing Commission" (PDF). United States Sentencing Commission. December 23, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  2. "Patti B. Saris Oral History, Chief Justice, US District Court for Massachusetts; Staffer for Edward Kennedy, Senate Judiciary Committee". www.emkinstitute.org.
  3. Patti B. Saris at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  4. 528 F.3d 42 (1st Cir. 2008).
  5. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Stands Despite Effort By Major Firms, AmLaw Daily, June 10, 2008, accessed March 6, 2012
  6. Cook v. Gates, 528 F.3d 42 (1st Cir. 2008) Archived 2011-08-03 at the Wayback Machine Via Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Accessed July 14, 2011
  7. "Hedge Fund Priest Beats SEC Short-And-Distort Claims - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  8. "Jury Clears Priest in 'Short-and-Distort' Scheme". CFO. 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  9. "Hedge Fund Priest Seeks Total Victory Over SEC Stock Suit - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  10. Alpert, Bill. "The SEC Wins Mixed Verdict Against a Short Seller Who Wouldn't Settle". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  11. "Unrepentant Priest Faces 5-Year Injunction In SEC Fraud Case - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  12. "Hedge Fund Priest Fights SEC Ban After Mixed Fraud Verdict - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  13. "Jury Clears Priest in 'Short-and-Distort' Scheme". CFO. 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  14. "Hedge Fund Priest Must Pay SEC $160,000 Following Jury Verdict". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  15. "PN1714 - Nomination of Patti B. Saris for United States Sentencing Commission, 111th Congress (2009–2010)". www.congress.gov. 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  16. "PN1713 - Nomination of Patti B. Saris for United States Sentencing Commission, 111th Congress (2009–2010)". www.congress.gov. 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  17. "President Obama Nominates Two United States Sentencing Commission". whitehouse.gov. April 28, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010 via National Archives.
  18. Wen, Patricia; Mohl, Bruce (10 May 1998). "A practical Mother's Day gift". Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. p. 32. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  19. Walker, Adrian (12 Feb 2016). "Throw the book at him". Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. p. B1. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
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