Western District of New York

No woman has ever served as a federal judge in Buffalo. In fact, the entire Western District of New York got its first and only female judge in 2013, when Judge Elizabeth Wolford was appointed to a Rochester-based seat. The vacancy on the Buffalo-based court, which is the longest-running judicial vacancy in New York, was marked by a fight over two female candidates during the Obama administration. Now the Trump administration has nominated a lawyer for the job: John Sinatra.

Background

A native of Buffalo, John Sinatra was born there in 1972. He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1993 and later earned his J.D. from the University of New York State at Buffalo Law School. in 1996.(1) Sinatra then worked at the New York Court of Appeals (despite its name, New York’s highest court) for two years, then joined Jones Day’s Cleveland office.(2)

In 2007, Sinatra joined the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. as a senior attorney. He left the firm a year later to become a partner at Hodgson Russ, LLP. in Buffalo. He continues to work there to this day.

Sinatra periodically applied, unsuccessfully, for state and federal judgeships. In 2012 and 2013, Sinatra applied to serve on the New York Court of Appeals but was not selected. (3) Sinatra also applied to become a U.S. Justice of the Peace in the Western District in 2015, but Michael Roemer was selected instead. (4)

History of the seat

Sinatra was nominated to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. This seat opened on March 8, 2015, when Justice William Skretny moved to senior status. Skretny actually announced his move to senior status in early 2014, and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) recommended former U.S. Attorney Denise O’Donnell for the seat.(5) However, the Obama administration did not never named O’Donnell. Many observers speculated that the White House was concerned about O’Donnell’s age (67) and his political history.(6) Faced with the administration’s lack of action, O’Donnell Donnell withdrew his candidacy in October 2015.(7).

Determined to seat a candidate for the Buffalo-based judgeship, Schumer recommended Kathleen Sweet, a civil attorney. This time, the Obama administration agreed, nominating Sweet on March 15, 2016.(8) Sweet was heard by the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee in June 2016, and was unanimously rejected on September 5, 2016. However, Sweet was rejected. blocked on a floor vote by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, only to be returned unconfirmed at the end of the 114th Congress.

After the election of Donald Trump in 2016, Schumer pushed the administration to rename Sweet.(9) However, the administration interviewed Sinatra, who had been nominated by Congressman Chris Collins (Republican of New York), early 2017.(10). House steadfastly refused to reappoint Sweet, but Schumer accepted Sinatra’s nomination as part of a field of eight New York judicial nominees.(11) Sinatra was officially nominated on May 15, 2018.

Legal experience

Sinatra began his legal career as an associate at Jones Day, a firm that produced many of Trump’s judicial nominees. Working in their Cleveland office, Sinatra practiced primarily civil litigation. For example, Sinatra represented the manufacturer of welding electrodes used in building construction.(12) The manufacturer was sued after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which allegedly damaged the structure of a building, and Sinatra helped manage the manufacturer’s defense.

After a year at the Commerce Department, Sinatra became a partner at Hodgson Russ LLP in Buffalo. At Hodgson, Sinatra focused primarily on handling qui tam cases under the False Claims Act, a federal law allowing private citizens to sue to recover money fraudulently obtained from the government. Sinatra notably sued DHL Express, Inc., a shipping company, for improperly charging fuel surcharges to the federal government.(13) The qui tam suit, defended by attorney Lawrence Vilado (who was later named in the Western District by President Obama), ultimately failed. (14) Sinatra also filed a False Claims Act action against Columbia University for alleged fraud related to federal grants for the study of HIV. (15)

Political activity

Sinatra, a Republican, has a fairly limited political record. Sinatra has four recorded donations, including two to then-Senator. Mike DeWine (R-OH), one for Mitt Romney in 2012 and one for Collins.(16) Sinatra also contributed to the national Republicans, contributing to the presidential campaigns of Mitt Romney and John Kasich, as well as to the national Republican Party . Committee.(17) Additionally, Sinatra volunteered for Republican Rep. Tom Reynolds’ campaign in 2006.(18).

Global evaluation

Sinatra has one of the most powerful assets he will need for a smooth confirmation, the support of Schumer and fellow New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand. Given that Schumer is the leader of the Senate Democratic caucus and Gillibrand is a likely 2020 presidential candidate, Democrats are unlikely to undermine either by opposing a candidate they support. So, as long as Sinatra continues to retain the support of both senators, he will likely be in for a comfortable confirmation.

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