--- title: "Jed Saul Rakoff | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jed-saul-rakoff" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Jed Saul Rakoff U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York - State: New York - Role: Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## 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 ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: 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. Evidence excerpt: 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](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: 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. Evidence excerpt: 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](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386686) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386686) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386686) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2652/jed-saul-rakoff/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [Federal Judicial Center — Biographical Directory of Federal Judges](https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/history/judges.csv) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2652/jed-saul-rakoff/) - [Judge Jed Saul Rakoff](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1386686) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jed-saul-rakoff", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jed-saul-rakoff", "name": "Jed Saul Rakoff | KnowJudges", "description": "Jed Saul Rakoff, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. 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Civil and criminal sections have distinct scope and district-specific exceptions. Not Bankruptcy Court rules. [Official source](https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/local_rules/2026-01-02%20-%20EDNY%20and%20SDNY%20Joint%20Local%20Rules%20As%20Amended.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — 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](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — 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](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.