| The newly established Jurist-in-Residence program brings distinguished members of the bench to campus on an annual basis to share their experience with the students, faculty and public. This September, Akron Law welcomes distinguished judge, Jed S. Rakoff, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York Judge Rakoff has been a member of the federal judiciary since 1996. He received his B.A. at Swarthmore College; M.Phil. at Oxford University; J.D, cum laude, from Harvard Law School; LL.D., with honors, from Swarthmore College; and LL.D., with honors, from St. Francis University.
Judge Rakoff will deliver a public lecture entitled Law and Science on Sept. 24 at 3p.m. in Room 151. A reception will follow in the law school atrium. The lecture is free and open to the public. In 2002, in United States v. Quinones, Judge Rakoff declared the federal death penalty unconstitutional, stating that the death penalty created an undue risk that a meaningful number of innocent persons were being executed. Although the decision was reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the New York Times referred to the decision as a cogent, powerful argument that all members of Congress indeed, all Americans should contemplate.
Judge Rakoff began his legal career in 1969 as a law clerk to the late Honorable Abraham L. Freedman of the United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit. In 1970 he joined Debevoise, Plimpton, Lyons & Gates as an associate. From 1973-80, Judge Rakoff was an assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, including chief of business and securities fraud prosecutions from 1978-80. In 1980, he joined Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, Alexander and Ferdon as a litigation partner, a position he held until 1990. He then joined Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson as a litigation partner, where he remained until 1996.
He is the author of four books, more than 100 published articles, 250 speeches and 550 judicial opinions. He has been a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School since 1988. Judge Rakoff is a leading authority on the law of white-collar crime, authoring many articles on that topic.
Judge Rakoff served on the Board of Managers at Swarthmore College from 2004-08. He currently serves on the Governance Board of the MacArthur Foundation Initiative on Law and Neuroscience, as well as the National Academies committee to prepare the third edition of the Federal Judges Manual on Scientific Evidence.
Judge Rakoff is currently chair of the Criminal Justice Advisory Board, SDNY; the Grievance Committee, SDNY; the Second Circuit Bankruptcy Committee; and the Honors Committee, New York City Bar Association. From 1986-89, he was chair of the Criminal Law Committee at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He is a fellow (now Judicial Fellow) of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Board of Criminal Lawyers. Judge Rakoff was also director for the New York Council of Defense Lawyers from 1990-94.
While at Akron Law, Judge Rakoff delivered a public lecture, lead a faculty workshop, and meet with students and members of the law school community. He will also serve as a moderator for a panel entitled Neuroimaging, Deception and Neuroskepticism at the Neuroscience, Law and Government Symposium sponsored by Akron Law this September.
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