Raymond Joseph Lohier Jr. (born December 1, 1965) is a Canadian-born American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Formerly, he was 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 and a Senior Trial Attorney in the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. He was the chief of the securities and commodities fraud task force in the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's office. He was recommended by New York Senator Charles Schumer for the nomination to the seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that was vacated by Sonia Sotomayor when she was elevated to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. Lohier is the first

Haitian-American Haitian Americans (french: Haïtiens-Américains; ht, ayisyen ameriken) are a group of Americans of full or partial Haitian origin or descent. The largest proportion of Haitians in the United States live in Little Haiti to the South Florida area ...

to serve as an Article III Federal Judge and to be confirmed (unanimously) by the United States Senate as a Judge for the Second Circuit in New York.

Early life and education

Lohier Jr. was born in Montreal, Quebec, of

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

an heritage.Schumer Pushes for Raymond J. Lohier to be Chosen for a Vacancy on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
(February 8, 2010). He graduated from Friends' Central School in Philadelphia in 1984. He went on to earn an Bachelor of Arts degree, graduating ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' from Harvard College, followed by 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 the New York University School of Law, where he served as Editor in Chief of the '' NYU Annual Survey of American Law''. He worked as 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 ...

for Judge

Robert P. Patterson Jr. Robert Porter Patterson Jr. (July 11, 1923 – April 21, 2015) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Early life and career Born in New York Cit ...

of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Legal career

Early in his career, Lohier worked as an associate in the law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. From 1997 to 2000, Lohier served as a Senior Trial Attorney with the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, where he worked under Bill Lann Lee and spearheaded employment discrimination-related litigation and worked on other civil rights matters of importance to the federal government. He became an Assistant United States Attorney in 2000, and later became chief of the narcotics unit. He later became chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Lohier may be most known in his career at the U.S. Attorney's office for having helped to oversee the investigation into the Madoff investment scandal and worked as a prosecutor on the Marc Dreier case.

Federal judicial service

On February 8, 2010, Chuck Schumer announced that he would recommend Lohier for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that was vacated by Sonia Sotomayor, who was elevated to the

on August 6, 2009. On March 10, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Lohier to the seat. On December 19, 2010, the Senate confirmed Lohier by a 92–0 vote. He received his judicial commission on December 20, 2010.

Personal

Lohier's wife, Donna Hae Kyun Lee, is Senior Associate Dean of Clinical Programs and a professor at the

CUNY School of Law The City University of New York School of Law (CUNY School of Law) is a Public university, public law school in New York City. It was founded in 1983 as part of the City University of New York. CUNY School of Law was established as a public inter ...

. The couple married in 1999 and lives in Brooklyn, New YorkRyan Thompson
Senator Chooses Brooklyn Community Board Officer For Circuit Court
'' Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' (February 9, 2010). In 2021, Lohier was elected to the Harvard Board of Overseers for a six-year term ending in 2027. Lohier is also an elected member of the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. ...

References

External links