Robert D. Sack

Robert D. Sack
Name	Robert D. Sack
Birth date	1939
Birth place	New York City
Alma mater	Harvard College; Columbia Law School
Occupation	Judge; Attorney; Professor
Known for	United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; First Amendment jurisprudence; international law

Robert D. Sack

Robert D. Sack is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton, he served on a court based in New York that hears appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Sack is noted for his opinions on the First Amendment, international disputes, intellectual property, and civil procedure, and has taught at several law schools and lectured at international tribunals.

Early life and education

Sack was born in New York City and raised in an environment connected to institutions such as the New York Public Library, Columbia University, and cultural centers on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side. He attended Harvard College for undergraduate studies and later enrolled at Columbia Law School where he edited law reviews and engaged with faculty including scholars from Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. During his formative years he developed contacts with legal figures associated with the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and appellate practitioners who practiced before the United States Supreme Court and the Second Circuit. Early internships and clerkships placed him in proximity to judges from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and to litigators at firms that appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Legal career

After graduating from Columbia Law School, Sack entered private practice at firms that appeared before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States, representing clients in matters involving the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, defamation law, and international disputes. He served as a law clerk and later as counsel in complex litigation involving parties from the United Kingdom, the People's Republic of China, and other jurisdictions. His practice included work on broadcasting matters before the Federal Communications Commission and on intellectual property matters implicating the United States Copyright Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He argued cases in the Second Circuit and provided appellate briefs in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States and state high courts such as the New York Court of Appeals.

Federal judicial service

Sack was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the United States Senate. He joined a panel alongside judges whose biographies reference service in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, appointments by Presidents such as Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, and collegial interaction with jurists elevated from the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Serving in New York, his chambers engaged with clerks who graduated from Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, and Stanford Law School. As a senior judge he continued to sit by designation on panels addressing appeals from circuits including matters that involved the Second Circuit’s jurisdiction over commercial disputes tied to entities like the New York Stock Exchange and multinational corporations headquartered in Manhattan.

Notable opinions and jurisprudence

Sack authored opinions addressing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, balancing doctrines derived from New York Times Co. v. Sullivan and precedents from the Supreme Court of the United States. His opinions explored libel and defamation principles, engaging with case law that references parties such as news organizations and broadcasters regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. He wrote on matters involving international comity and sovereign immunity implicating doctrines from decisions of the International Court of Justice and commentary from scholars at institutions like Oxford University and Cambridge University. In intellectual property disputes he applied statutory frameworks from the United States Copyright Act and the Lanham Act, addressing trademark and copyright conflicts among media companies, publishers, and technology firms such as those headquartered in Silicon Valley and New York City. In procedure he contributed to jurisprudence on appellate standards of review and injunctions, citing procedural precedents originating in the Supreme Court of the United States and developed in Second Circuit panels.

Academic and public service contributions

Sack taught and lectured at law schools including Columbia Law School, Yale Law School, and other academic centers where faculty included scholars from Harvard Law School and visiting professors from the London School of Economics. He delivered lectures at international forums and tribunals, participating in programs affiliated with organizations such as the American Bar Association, the International Bar Association, and the Council on Foreign Relations. His scholarship and presentations addressed topics like media law, cross-border litigation, and appellate practice, and he served on panels with judges from the Eleventh Circuit, academics from Stanford University, and practitioners from firms admitted to argue before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Personal life and honors

Sack has been recognized by legal organizations including the American Bar Association and local bar associations such as the New York State Bar Association for contributions to appellate advocacy and legal education. His honors include listings in publications produced by entities like Chambers and Partners and awards from academic institutions such as Columbia University and legal societies associated with the Federal Bar Council. He resides in the New York metropolitan area and has participated in community programs connected to cultural institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New York Public Library.

Category:United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit judges Category:Columbia Law School alumni Category:Harvard College alumni Category:1939 births Category:Living people