Joseph Frank Bianco (born September 11, 1966) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a

United States circuit judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S. Cou ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...

. He was formerly a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, S ...

Early life and education

Bianco was born in Flushing, New York. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1988, and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from Columbia Law School in 1991. He earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the

Seminary of the Immaculate Conception The Seminary of the Immaculate Conception was a Catholic seminary in Lloyd Harbor, New York, accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, and serving the Diocese of Rockville Centre. It offered a number of ...

in 2013, and is an ordained

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

Career

Bianco was a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

to Judge

Peter K. Leisure Peter Keeton Leisure (March 21, 1929 – September 17, 2013) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Education and career Born in New York City, New York, Leisure received a ...

of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a United States district court, federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York (state), New York ...

from 1992 to 1993. He then became an associate at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, where he worked for one year.United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Joseph F. Bianco
/ref> From 1994 to 2003, Bianco served as an

assistant United States attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

for the Southern District of New York. In 2003 and 2004, he was counsel at

Debevoise & Plimpton Debevoise & Plimpton LLP (often shortened to Debevoise) is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1931 by Harvard Law School alumnus Eli Whitney Debevoise and Oxford-trained William Stevenson, the firm was original ...

. Before becoming a judge, Bianco was senior counsel and a deputy assistant attorney general in the

United States Department of Justice Criminal Division United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

. Bianco taught as an adjunct professor at

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test take ...

from 2002 to 2004. From 2009 to 2013, he was an adjunct at the

Maurice A. Deane School of Law The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University (commonly known as Hofstra Law) is a law school located in Hempstead, New York on Long Island, affiliated with Hofstra University. Founded in 1970 and accredited by the ABA in 1971, the sc ...

. He was an adjunct professor of law at Touro Law Center from 2007 to 2014. He has taught as an adjunct at the

St. John's University School of Law St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Maste ...

since 2006. He has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2004.

District court

Bianco is a former United States district judge of the

. Bianco was nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

on July 28, 2005, to a seat vacated by Denis Reagan Hurley. He was confirmed unanimously by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on December 21, 2005 and received his commission on January 3, 2006. As a district court judge, Bianco oversaw a number of murder cases against MS-13 gang members. His service on the district court terminated upon his elevation to the 2nd Circuit Court on May 17, 2019.

Court of appeals

On October 10, 2018, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

announced his intent to nominate Bianco to the

. On November 13, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Bianco to the seat vacated by Judge Reena Raggi, who assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on August 31, 2018. Also on November 13, 2018, the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

unanimously rated Bianco as "Well Qualified," its highest rating. On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the

. On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Bianco to a federal judgeship. His nomination was sent to the Senate later that day. On February 13, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On March 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On May 6, 2019, the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

invoked cloture on his nomination by a 51–40 vote. On May 8, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 54–42 vote. He received his judicial commission on May 13, 2019.

Personal life

Bianco is married and has six children.

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bianco, Joseph Frank 1966 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American judges American lawyers and judges of Italian descent Assistant United States Attorneys Georgetown University alumni Columbia Law School alumni Federalist Society members Fordham University faculty Hofstra University faculty Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit People from Flushing, Queens Catholics from New York (state) American Roman Catholic deacons St. John's University (New York City) faculty Touro College faculty United States Department of Justice lawyers United States district court judges appointed by George W. Bush United States court of appeals judges appointed by Donald Trump