Spring 2019 Newsletter
Recent news, events, and useful information from the
Northern District of New York Federal Court Bar Association
The FCBA helped the U.S. District Court celebrate Law Week by teaching the First Amendment to more than 850 high school students across the Northern District.

On March 21, 2019, the Board of Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York selected Miroslav Lovric to serve as a Magistrate Judge in Binghamton upon the retirement of Magistrate Judge David E. Peebles.

By Joann Sternheimer

Recently, I had the privilege of sponsoring a young attorney for admission to the United States District Court, Northern District of New York. It brought to mind my own experience of being admitted to the bar.

Featured Photo
Attorneys are sworn in at the Admission Ceremony for Judge Advocate Officers at the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, in Watertown, New York, on March 7, 2019. The event featured remarks from United States Magistrate Judge Andrew T. Baxter and John Powers, partner at Hancock Estabrook LLP.
Our IT team, led by IT Director Maurice Christopher, is working very hard to improve the quality and reliability of our courtroom systems. There are however, a few simple steps you can take to greatly improve the effectiveness and reliability of these systems.

On Wednesday, April 17, 2019, the United States Supreme Court heard argument in a case originating in the NDNY, McDonough v. Smith, 15-CV-1505, 2016 WL 7496128 (N.D.N.Y. Dec. 30, 2016) (D’Agostino, J.), aff’d, McDonough v. Smith, 898 F.3d 259 (2d Cir. 2018), which will resolve a circuit split regarding the statute of limitations governing a Section 1983 claim based on the alleged fabrication of evidence.

On March 21, 2019, the historic case of Russo v. Central School District No. 1 was brought to life with a trial reenactment at the James M. Hanley U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building.

Prize money totaling $5,000 has been awarded to 24 high school students across the NDNY for outstanding essays on the U.S. Constitution.The prizes were awarded in a contest administered by the NDNY-FCBA’s Constitutional Scholars Program. Contestants had to submit an original essay of up to 2,000 words based exclusively on primary sources regarding the origin of some aspect of the U.S. Constitution.

Upcoming Events
May 29: Federal Criminal Trial Practice CLE at Syracuse University College of Law: “Criminal Justice Reform, Implicit Bias, and Criminal Law Update”

June 18: Wine Tasting Event in Syracuse; space is limited, RSVP to [email protected]

June, date and place TBD: FCBA social hour in Albany

September 20: Third Annual Supreme Court Preview CLE
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