Judicial Nominee Argued Against Education Dept.
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A lawyer who recently argued a case at the U.S. Supreme Court against the city’s Department of Education has been nominated for a federal judgeship in New York.
The White House yesterday announced the nomination of Paul Gardephe, a partner at the firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, for a judgeship in the Southern District of New York. Patterson Belknap is the former law firm of Attorney General Mukasey.
Mr. Gardephe recently represented a former Viacom executive, Thomas Freston, in a suit against the city’s Department of Education. Mr. Freston sought to force the city to reimburse him for tuition for his son’ s private education. Mr. Freston claimed that the city could not provide his son, a special needs student, with an adequate education. The suit went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which last October split 4-4. The tie meant a win for Mr. Freston because it upheld a lower court decision.
Mr. Gardephe has also been a lawyer for Time Inc., and was a federal prosecutor in Manhattan. In one case, he prosecuted the boxing promoter Don King on charges of insurance and wire fraud.
He had also led a Department of Justice review of the government’s uncovering of espionage by Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen.
With Mr. Gardephe’s nomination, President Bush currently has three judicial nominations for the New York bench pending before the Senate.
