John G. Koeltl

John George Koeltl (born 1945 in New York City) is a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.

Education

Koeltl graduated from Regis High School in New York City in 1963. He then studied history at Georgetown University and then obtained his law degree from Harvard University School of Law, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating from law school Koeltl served as a law clerk for Judge Edward Weinfeld of the Southern District of New York and then for Justice Potter Stewart of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Legal career

Koeltl then worked briefly in the office of the Watergate special prosecutor before entering private law practice in New York. For several years, Koeltl was a partner at the New York law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton. During these years, Koeltl served on several committees of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and American Bar Association and was the author of several published articles on securities law and other topics.

Judicial service

In 1994, President Bill Clinton named Koeltl a U.S. District Judge in the Southern District of New York, a position he still holds today.

Notable decisions

Judge Koeltl is best known for his October 2006 decision to sentence civil rights lawyer Lynne Stewart to 28 months in prison for assisting one of her clients, 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind Omar Abdel-Rahman, in violating prison rules, instead of the 30 years requested by the prosecution. More recently, he presided over the case involving Raffaello Follieri, who pled guilty to conspiracy, fraud and money laundering in connection with purchases of property from the Catholic Church. The Follieri case received significant media scrutiny due to his relationship with celebrities and former US President Bill Clinton. [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122106170549019693.html?mod=googlenews_wsj] Koeltl also is the judge hearing a case brought by Citigroup against Wells Fargo to halt the latter's purchase of Wachovia, which Citi had earlier announced plans to purchase. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/business/06bank.html?bl&ex=1223524800&en=6b2e328b1376df03&ei=5087%0A]

ources

* [http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=1305 Biography] from the Federal Judicial Center
* [http://www1.nysd.uscourts.gov/cases/show.php?db=judge_info&id=56 Individual Practices of Judge Koeltl] from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.