Joseph Papin, Southern District of New York Thurgood Marshall United States Federal Courthouse
Note that the Southern District Court now meets in both the Southern District of New York Thurgood Marshall United States Federal Courthouse and the new Daniel Patrick Moynihan Southern District of New York Federal Courthouse (built in 1993).
“On November 3, 1789, the first court organized pursuant to the United States Constitution convened. This court was not the Supreme Court, but rather the District Court for the District of New York, located in Manhattan. Even though the New York District Court was the first federal court to hold session in the United States, its first-in-time status was a happenstance. The New Jersey District Court was scheduled to open on the same day as the court in New York, and, had it not been for the illness of New Jersey’s judge, both states would have shared the ‘Mother Court’ distinction.” (John D. Winter and Richard Maidman, Retelling the History of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Reprinted from NYLitigator – Summer 2012 Vol. 17)
The US District Courthouse from the steps of Federal Courthouse, by Joseph Papin
“The government scandals of the 1970s led to the highly publicized Mitchell-Stans trial conducted in the Southern District.101 In a criminal trial before Judge Gagliardi, former Attorney General, John Mitchell, and former Commerce Secretary, Maurice Stans, were tried for criminal conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury. The Government alleged that the two men had impeded a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of financier Robert Vesco in return for a secret contribution of $200,000 to President Nixon’s 1972 campaign. After a forty-eight day trial, the jury acquitted Mitchell and Stans on all counts, although Mitchell would be found guilty of similar charges one year later, related to his role in the Watergate cover-up.” (Winter & Maidman, 2012)
Joseph Papin coverage of Mitchell Stans trial (the overhead scenes below were drawn from floor level).
(Daily News, April 3, 1974):
“There were many notable trials in the Southern District during the 1980s involving individuals associated with organized crime, politicians, and Wall Street financiers. One of the most famous financiers facing criminal charges in the 1980s was Drexel Burnham executive Michael Milken. Milken was investigated by the FBI and indicted on ninety-eight counts of racketeering, mail fraud, securities fraud and other crimes. However, this case never went to trial because Milken pled guilty to six securities and reporting violations. He was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, of which he served two before his release. In the Milken investigation, law enforcement was aided by Ivan Boesky, a Wall Street arbitrageur, who informed on Milken’s activities. Boesky himself was charged with insider trading and accepted a plea bargain for which he received a $100 million fine and three years in prison, of which he served two before his release.” (Winter & Maidman, 2012)
(Joseph Papin, Daily News, January 25, 1989):
“Another famous Rule 10b-5 trial, similar to Chiarella, was held in the Southern District in 1985 before Judge Charles Stewart. The government alleged that R. Foster Winans, a Wall Street Journal reporter best known for his ‘Heard on the Street’ column, leaked information about the contents of his column before it was published, which allowed his associates to make significant profits. After a bench trial, Judge Stewart found Winans and two co-defendants guilty of violating 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j, 78ff, Rule 10b-5, and federal mail and wire fraud statutes. The conviction was eventually upheld by the Supreme court’s Court in Carpenter v. United States, where the Supreme Court split 4-4.” (Winter & Maidman, 2012)
(Joseph Papin, Daily News, January 25, 1985):
“In terms of corruption and organized crime cases in the Southern District, one of the more significant cases was the 1985 ‘Pizza Connection Trial,’ before Judge Pierre Leval. The trial focused on drug distribution and money laundering in pizza parlors across the United States. Nineteen defendants were tried in what is still one of the longest trials ever to be held in the Southern District, lasting from October 1985 to March 1987. Nearly all of the defendants were found guilty. Perhaps more notable than the ‘Pizza Connection Trial’ was the ‘Mafia Commission Trial,’ held from February 1985 to November 1986. In that case, eight defendants, including heads of New York’s ‘Five Families,’ were tried on charges including extortion, racketeering, labor payoffs, and loan-sharking. After a jury found all of the defendants guilty, Judge Richard Owen sentenced most of the defendants to 100 years in prison.” (Winter & Maidman, 2012)
(Joseph Papin, Daily News, October 31, 1985):
“Government corruption again was put in the spotlight when Stanley Friedman, the former Bronx Democratic Party chairman, was tried before a Southern District judge for brokering bribes in connection with a lucrative computer contract given by the city Parking Violations Bureau. The trial was supposed to be held in the Foley Square Courthouse, but the location was moved to New Haven, due to the publicity surrounding the case. Judge P. William Knapp made the trek to New Haven to preside over the trial, and Friedman was found guilty of racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud.” (Winter & Maidman, 2012)
(Joseph Papin, Daily News, March 11, 1986):
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