Few lawyers know who Martin Manton was.  Even fewer, if any, law students learn about Manton while in school.  That may change with the Hon. Gary Stein’s recent biography of Manton, Justice for Sale: Graft, Greed, and a Crooked Federal Judge in 1930s Gotham.  (See Justice for Sale: Graft, Greed, and a Crooked Federal Judge in 1930s Gotham: Stein, Gary: 9781493072569: Amazon.com: Books)

Judge Stein tells the history of Judge Manton’s rapid rise – President Woodrow Wilson appointed Manton, then 36-years old, to the federal district court in 1916, then elevated him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit two years later.  As a judge, Manton continued to be involved in a number of businesses, including real estate ventures on which he had given mortgages.  During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Manton desperately needed money and turned to selling his office, repeatedly soliciting payments from lawyers and litigants arguing cases before him.  Judge Stein calculates that Manton received improper payments of about $823,000 – about $17 million today.  Ultimately, in 1939, Manton was publicly exposed.  This led to his resignation, prosecution, conviction, and imprisonment.        
As Judge Stein discusses with Associate Dean Rodger Citron, the story of Manton’s corrupt conduct on the bench is an extraordinary tale.  Manton was friends with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, served on the Second Circuit with, among others, the Hon. Learned Hand, and nearly was appointed to the United States Supreme Court in the 1920s.  This may seem like ancient history, but Judge Stein’s book reminds us that judges – even federal judges – are human, subject to the same flaws and foibles as the rest of us.  That is a timely lesson that is still instructive today.

Brought to you by the Touro Law Review.   

Our guest today is Magistrate Judge Gary Stein.

Continue reading →

Cybercrime has become a topic of discussion in the last few years. In this week’s Touro Law Review podcast moderated by Associate Dean Michelle Zakarin, Nicole E. Osborne joins us. Nicole is an Associate at the Law Firm of Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C. and is a member of the firm’s Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Practice Group. Nicole gives advice to students who are interested in this practice area. She noted that there are a lot of traditional practice areas that lend themselves perfectly to a career in cybersecurity, such as health care law. 

The law of cybersecurity, Nicole states, is unpredictable; everyday is different as it is an interdisciplinary area of law. She then dives into the specifics of data breaches– something Nicole deals with frequently and is very passionate about. She follows by discussing the importance of addressing these issues quickly and the different laws and regulations of each state, as well as federal legislation that might come into play. As the conversation continues, Nicole discuses, threat actors, ransomware, and “double extortion.” Nicole also discusses the documents typically stolen by threat actors and ways to avoid breaches. Notably, she provides generally applicable tips and recommendations for all businesses because threat actors target small businesses just as much as large companies. 

As a parting note, Nicole reminds us that this area is evolving rapidly and that it is very important to stay on top of these laws, even if it seems difficult. 

 

Brought to you by the Touro Law Review.   

Our guest today is Nicole E. Osborne, Esq.

Continue reading →