1999 – 2003 

Federal Judicial Service: 

• Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of New York.  Entered duty in 1999 and served until 2003. 

Education: 

• Albany Law School of Union University, J.D., 1981 
• State University of New York at Brockport, B.S., magna cum laude, 1978 

Professional Career: 

• Private Practice: 1981-1983, 1984-1999, 2003-present 
• Law Clerk, Hon. Michael A. Telesca, Western District of New York, 1983-1984 

 

Noteworthy Cases: 

 

United States v. Walter Harrell, No. 996111: 

Defendants were arrested after a vehicle in which they were traveling was stopped and searched by police following the receipt of an anonymous tip from a 911 caller who described the vehicle and reported that the occupants of the vehicle had guns and had fired a shot at him the previous week.  After the initial stop of the vehicle, one of the defendants fled and was apprehended.  The other defendant was briefly detained in the back of a police vehicle while an officer searched the “grab” areas of the vehicle, locating two firearms in the glove box.  Both defendants were arrested and a search of the entire vehicle yielded ammunition and narcotics.  Defendants sought to suppress statements and the tangible evidence found in the car on the grounds that the initial traffic stop was unlawful because the anonymous tip did not provide officers reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop of the vehicle.  Judge Bauer recommended that the motion to suppress be denied, concluding that under the totality of the circumstances the stop was lawful.  The District Court declined to adopt the recommendation, concluding that the anonymous tip could not form the basis for a lawful Terry stop.  On appeal, the Second Circuit acknowledged that the police conduct occurred at “the dimlylit intersection of common sense and the Fourth Amendment” and concluded that the vehicle stop was justified by the officers’ observation of a traffic violation, specifically, the excessive tint on the windows. 

 

United States v. Harrell, 268 F.3d 141 (2d Cir. 2001)
https://casetext.com/case/us-v-harrell-2  

 

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University of Rochester v. G.D. Searle & Co., Inc., No. 00-CV-6161: 

Plaintiff commenced this action against defendants asserting that they were infringing its patent relating to what was commonly referred to as “super aspirin.”  The law firm of Morrison & Foerster represented the plaintiff and filed the complaint.  One of the defendants, Pharmacia Corp., moved to disqualify Morrison & Foerster on the grounds that the law firm was simultaneously representing Pharmacia in a California-based lawsuit involving allegations that Pharmacia was non-compliant with California Proposition 65, which required warning labels for products containing cancer-causing chemicals.  Shortly after the motion to disqualify was filed, Morrison & Forester withdrew as counsel for Pharmacia in the California litigation, over Pharmacia’s objection.  Despite the withdrawal, Pharmacia continued to maintain that disqualification was required because Morrison & Foerster’s continued representation of the plaintiff was a per se violation of applicable ethical rules.  Judge Bauer determined that the plaintiff had demonstrated that Morrison & Foerster had not obtained any of Pharmacia’s confidential information as a result of its involvement in the California-litigation and that there was an “absence of an apparent or actual conflict in loyalties or diminution in the vigor of representation.” Acknowledging the importance of maintaining “the highest standards of the profession and the integrity of the adversary process,” Judge Bauer determined that under the totality of the circumstances, which included plaintiff’s interest in counsel of its own choosing and the prejudice it would face if forced to substitute counsel, disqualification of Morrison & Foerster was not warranted. 

  

Univ. of Rochester v. G.D. Searle & Co., 2000 WL 1922271 (W.D.N.Y. 2000); see also Univ. of Rochester v. G.D. Searle & Co., 249 F. Supp. 2d 216 (W.D.N.Y. 2003), aff’d, 358 F.3d 916 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied, 543 U.S. 1015 (2004)
https://casetext.com/case/university-of-rochester-v-gd-searle-co-inc-4