Kevin Thomas Duffy

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American judge (1933–2020)

For the Australian rules footballer, see Kevin Duffy (footballer) . For the British publisher, see Kevin Duffy (publisher) .

Kevin Thomas Duffy (January 10, 1933 – April 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York .

Education and career

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Born on January 10, 1933, in the Bronx ,

Duffy received a bachelor's degree from Fordham University in 1954 and a Bachelor of Laws from the Fordham University School of Law in 1958. He clerked for Judge J. Edward Lumbard at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1955–1958). Duffy served as an Assistant United States Attorney (1958–1959) and assistant chief of the Criminal Division (1959–1961) at the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York before going into private practice as an associate with the New York City firm Whitman, Ransom & Coulson (1961–1966). He later became a partner with Gordon & Gordon (1966–1969). Duffy was later appointed New York regional administrator of the Securities and Exchange Commission office (1969–1972). His tenure as Regional Administrator of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission was in a time of turmoil in Wall Street. He is viewed by many as having been the first proponent within the Commission of what eventually became Securities Investor Protection Corporation or SIPC.[_citation needed
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Federal judicial service

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On September 25, 1972, Duffy was nominated by President Richard Nixon to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by Judge Irving Ben Cooper . Duffy was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 12, 1972, and received his commission on October 17, 1972. At that time, he became the youngest member of the federal judiciary. He assumed senior status on January 10, 1998. He retired from active service on September 30, 2016.

Notable cases

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In 1973, as a new member of the Southern District, Duffy was assigned one of the most complicated and difficult organized crime narcotics cases tried in Manhattan federal court, United States v. Tramunti. Carmine Tramunti and thirty others were charged with conspiracy to violate the federal narcotics laws in connection with many sales of heroin. Several defendants pleaded guilty; some cooperated and testified; three became fugitives prior to trial; one was murdered before trial; another, who was on bail, fell down a flight of stairs and fractured his skull during the trial; and, an attorney for another of the defendants died suddenly during the trial. "Through it all, the young and relatively inexperienced Judge Duffy presided with poise, calm and good grace."

In 1977, Duffy threatened New York Governor Hugh Carey with contempt of court for not imposing bridge tolls as Duffy had required him to under the Clean Air Act of 1963 .

In 1983, Duffy presided over one of the trials resulting from the Brink's robbery (1981) by the Black Liberation Army .

In 1985, Duffy began a complicated multi-defendant trial involving the then-alleged leader and other members of the Gambino organized crime family. In a pre-trial decision, he severed many defendants in the case, pointing out that if the trial were held on the original indictment, the case would have been too unwieldy and cumbersome and would have lasted more than a year. Even with the severance, the Castellano trial was a difficult case to manage and on December 16, 1985, Paul Castellano , the alleged Gambino leader, and his bodyguard were gunned down outside of Sparks Steak House on East Forty-Sixth Street in Manhattan.

Duffy also presided over the trial and conviction of the four principal perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing . In a book about the trial, "Defending Mohammad: Justice on Trial," Robert E. Precht, a defense attorney for Mohammad Salameh (who rented the yellow Ryder van that carried the explosives), accused Duffy of bias and of "essentially convicting his client before the trial ended." Other defense lawyers have applauded the Judge's fair handling of the case and after the trial, the New York Post ran a headline calling him the "Avenger."[_citation needed
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Duffy presided over the trial of Ramzi Yousef , the mastermind of the Bojinka plot (the Manila Bombing Conspiracy), to hijack planes bound for the west coast of the United States and fly them into the Pacific Ocean on a coordinated schedule. In the words of the Second Circuit, "Judge Duffy carefully, impartially, and commendably conducted the two lengthy and extraordinarily complex trials from which these appeals were taken. The fairness of the proceedings over which he presided is beyond doubt." United States v. Yousef, 327 F.3d 56, 173 (2d Cir. 2003).

Duffy's work on the civil side included difficult litigations, including presiding over the Iranian Assets Litigation, which followed from the attachment of Iranian government assets following the taking of American hostages. He a

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In 1973, as a new member of the Southern District, Duffy was assigned one of the most complicated and difficult organi