The Daniel Moynihan United States Courthouse is where the branches of the professional life of Gerard E. Lynch ’75 intersected recently as he was inducted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
There was the branch from Columbia Law School, where Lynch, then just 25, began teaching two years after graduating. At least 20 current and former professors were on hand to see Lynch formally take the oath of office.
There was also the branch from the federal court system, where Lynch has served 14 years, first as an esteemed criminal prosecutor and, most recently, nine years as a district judge in the Southern District of New York. In the ninth-floor ceremonial courtroom, Lynch officially became the Second Circuit’s 67th justice, as he was helped into his robes by his wife Karen Marisak and son Christopher.
Lynch had served as a U.S. district judge since 2000. He was nominated for his new post in April by President Obama, and was confirmed in the Senate on Sept. 17 by a 94-3 vote. So far, Lynch is the only Obama circuit court nominee confirmed.
Lynch, the Paul J. Kellner Professor of Law, will continue to teach at the Law School, where he focuses on criminal law and procedure, sentencing, and professional responsibility.
Lynch joins Professor Debra A. Livingston on the Second Circuit. Adjunct Professor Robert D. Sack '63, who assumed senior status on the Circuit in August, hears cases on an at-large basis.
