Ramón Ernesto Reyes Jr. (born 1966) is an American lawyer who has served as a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

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 United States district court, federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five List of counties in New York, counties in ...

since 2023. He previously served as a

United States magistrate judge In United States federal courts, magistrate judges are judges appointed to assist U.S. district court judges in the performance of their duties. Magistrate judges generally oversee first appearances of criminal defendants, set bail, and conduct ...

of the same court from 2006 to 2023.

Education

Reyes received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1988, a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a Private university, private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and adjunct faculty. ...

in 1992 and a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

from

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

in 1993.

Career

In 1991, Reyes was a summer associate at

Morrison & Foerster Morrison & Foerster LLP (also known as MoFo) is an American multinational law firm headquartered in San Francisco, California, with 17 offices located throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. History In 1883, Alexander Francis Morrison ...

in their

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

office. In 1993, he was a legislative attorney for the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

. From 1994 to 1995, he served as a

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

for Judge David G. Trager of the

. From 1995 to 1998, he was a litigation associate at

O'Melveny & Myers O'Melveny & Myers LLP is an American multinational law firm founded in Los Angeles in 1885. The firm employs approximately 800 lawyers and has offices in California, Washington, D.C., New York City, Texas, Beijing, Brussels, Hong Kong, London, S ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. From 1998 to 2006, Reyes 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 gov ...

for the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. From 2008 to 2017, he was an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

of clinical law at Brooklyn Law School.

Federal judicial service

From February 13, 2006 to November 13, 2023, he served as a magistrate judge for the Eastern District of New York. Reyes was recommended to President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

by Senator

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...

. On September 2, 2022, President Biden announced his intent to nominate Reyes to serve as a

of the

. On September 6, 2022, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Reyes to the seat vacated by Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto, who assumed senior status on July 23, 2022. Reyes was unanimously rated "well qualified" for the judgeship by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. On November 30, 2022, a hearing on his nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

. During his confirmation hearing, Senator

Marsha Blackburn Mary Marsha Blackburn (née Wedgeworth; born June 6, 1952) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Tennessee. Blackburn was first ...

, accused him of "releasing dangerous criminals into the community" via bail grants. She asked how the panel could be assured Reyes would follow sentencing laws considering complaints about crime from her constituents. On January 3, 2023, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. He was renominated on January 23, 2023. On February 9, 2023, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 vote. On November 7, 2023, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 50–46 vote. On November 8, 2023, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–48 vote. He received his judicial commission on November 13, 2023.

Memberships and organizations

Reyes is a member of the board of trustees of

and the board of directors of the

Federal Bar Association The Federal Bar Association (FBA) is the primary voluntary professional organization for private and government lawyers and judges practicing and sitting in federal courts in the United States. Six times a year, the FBA prints ''The Federal Lawye ...

, Eastern District Chapter. He previously served as president of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association in 2019, as a member of the board of trustees of the

Federal Bar Council The Federal Bar Council is a not-for-profit specialty bar association whose membership consists of lawyers and judges who practice primarily in federal courts within the Second Circuit. The Second Circuit covers the following districts: District ...

from 2006 to 2012, and a member of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

's Coalition on Racial and Ethnic Justice from 2013 to 2016.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Ramon Ernesto Jr. 1966 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Assistant United States attorneys Brooklyn Law School alumni Brooklyn Law School faculty Cornell University alumni Hispanic and Latino American judges Hispanic and Latino American lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York Lawyers from Brooklyn New York University School of Law alumni People associated with Morrison & Foerster People associated with O'Melveny & Myers United States district court judges appointed by Joe Biden United States magistrate judges

Education

Career

Federal judicial service

Memberships and organizations

See also

References

External links