Jed Saul Rakoff at a glance
- Current role
- Senior Judge
- Jurisdiction
- New York · Federal
- Judicial service
- Active
Jed Saul Rakoff
Senior Judge · U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Service record and verification
Judicial service and assignments
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York · Judge · Senior · January 4, 1996–present · Assignment source ↗
Appointment and verification
- Appointment method
- Presidential appointment with Senate confirmation
- Appointing authority
- William J. Clinton
- Source authority
- Federal Judicial Center Biographical Directory
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Biography
Professional career
- Judge, District Court, S.D. New York, 1996-2010
- Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of New York, 1973-1980; chief, business and securities fraud prosecutions, 1978-1980
- Law clerk, Hon. Abraham Freedman, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1969-1970
- American jurist serving as a Senior Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY)
Education
- Harvard University — J.D. (1969)
- M.Phil. — University of Oxford — 1966
- Swarthmore College — B.A. (1964)
Additional information
- He assumed senior status on December 31, 2010.
- Joined the SDNY bench by President Bill Clinton on October 11, 1995, confirmed by the Senate on December 29, 1995, and commissioned January 4, 1996.
- Private practice, New York City, 1970-1972, 1980-1995
- Born August 1, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- Date of birth: 1943-01-01
- Known for his work in securities law, criminal law, and complex litigation, and frequently sits by designation on the 2nd and 9th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals
- His decisions have been influential in securities fraud, corporate governance, and criminal cases.
- He has also served on the National Commission on Forensic Science and the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Eyewitness Identification
- Birth place: Philadelphia, PA
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Remote appearances
Courtwide
In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards.
For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location.Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court ↗
Recording and broadcasting
Courtwide
Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception.
Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited ↗
Published courtroom rules
Shared court rules
SDNY and EDNY — Joint Local Civil and Criminal Rules
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Federal district-court proceedings only. Civil and criminal sections have distinct scope and district-specific exceptions. Not Bankruptcy Court rules.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Sources
Identity source checked July 25, 2026.
Biography sources checked August 3, 2026.
Federal Judicial Center biography
Identity source · HTML · Federal Judicial Center Biographical Directory · effective January 4, 1996 · Source checked July 25, 2026
View Federal Judicial Center biography ↗CourtListener judicial biographical directory
Identity source · HTML · CourtListener / Free Law Project · Source checked August 2, 2026
View CourtListener judicial biographical directory ↗Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court
Courtwide source · HTML · Supreme Court of the United States and Judicial Conference of the United States · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court ↗Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited
Courtwide source · HTML · Supreme Court of the United States and Judicial Conference of the United States · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited ↗Federal Judicial Center — Biographical Directory of Federal Judges
Identity source · TEXT · Federal Judicial Center · Source checked September 8, 2026
View Federal Judicial Center — Biographical Directory of Federal Judges ↗