{"id":3751,"date":"2024-03-01T11:22:04","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T16:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/?p=3751"},"modified":"2024-10-25T09:12:30","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T13:12:30","slug":"richard-arcara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/judges\/richard-arcara\/","title":{"rendered":"Richard Arcara"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">1988 \u2013 present<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Federal Judicial Service:<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of New York<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Nominated by President Ronald Reagan on August 7, 1987, to a seat vacated by Hon. John T. Elfvin.\u00a0 Confirmed by the Senate on February 19, 1988, and received commission on February 22, 1988.\u00a0 Served as Chief Judge, 2003-2010.\u00a0 Assumed senior status on January 3, 2015.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Education:<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Villanova University Law School, J.D., 1965<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">St. Bonaventure University, B.A., 1962<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Professional Career:<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">District Attorney, Erie County, New York, 1982-1988<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">United States Attorney for the Western District of New York, 1975-1981<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">First Assistant U.S. Attorney, Western District of New York, 1973-1974<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Assistant U.S. Attorney, Western District of New York, 1969-1973<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Private Practice, Buffalo, New York, 1968-1969<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">U.S. Army, Captain, Military Police Corps, 1966-1967<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Noteworthy Cases:<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Seneca Nation of Indians v. State of New York, et al.<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, No. 1:93-CV-00688:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In 1993, the Seneca Nation of Indians, the westernmost tribe of the Six Nations, or Iroquois Confederacy, citing a 200-year-old treaty and a promise from George Washington, filed a lawsuit claiming rightful ownership to the 40-odd islands in the Niagara River between Lake Erie and Niagara Falls.\u00a0 The largest of those islands \u2013 Grand Island \u2013 was home to more than 18,000 New York State residents.\u00a0 While the proceedings in this case spanned a decade, the claim itself was much older and went back to the 1950s.\u00a0 In a 215-page decision recounting historical research pertaining to four centuries, Judge Arcara granted summary judgment to the state and dismissed the complaint.\u00a0 In so doing, the Court determined that New York State legally owned the islands since any aboriginal title to the islands held by the Senecas had been extinguished either by the 1764 Treaties of Peace between Great Britain and the Senecas, which transferred title from the Senecas to the British Crown; or by the 1784 Treaty of Fort Stanwix, which extinguished the Senecas\u2019 title and passed it to New York.\u00a0 The Court further held that the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua between the United States and the Senecas did not transfer the Islands back to the Senecas and rejected the Senecas\u2019 claim that the state illegally purchased the islands from the tribe in 1815.\u00a0 The Court of Appeals, characterizing Judge Arcara\u2019s opinion as \u201cthoughtful and comprehensive,\u201d affirmed Judge Arcara\u2019s dismissal of the lawsuit and resolution of the longstanding claim that impacted tens of thousands of New York State residents.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Seneca Nation of Indians v. New York<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 206 F.\u202fSupp.\u202f2d 448 (W.D.N.Y. 2002),<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> aff\u2019d<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 382 F.3d 245 (2d Cir. 2004), <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">cert. denied<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"auto\">547 U.S. 1178 (2006)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\"><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/the-seneca-nation-of-indians-v-state-of-new-york\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/the-seneca-nation-of-indians-v-state-of-new-york<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Forest Laboratories, Inc. v. Abbott Laboratories<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, No. 1:96-CV-00159:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Respiratory Distress Syndrome (\u201cRDS\u201d) is, when untreated, an often-fatal condition that afflicts thousands of premature infants throughout the world each year.\u00a0 Until relatively recently, RDS was the leading cause of mortality in premature infants.\u00a0 The search for a cure for RDS was the subject of research by scientists throughout the world for almost 35 years.\u00a0 In 1959, Dr. Mary Ellen Avery discovered that premature infants suffering from RDS had an insufficient amount of a substance known as \u201cpulmonary surfactant\u201d in their lungs.\u00a0 Dr. Avery correctly theorized that surfactant might be produced by specialized cells in the lung and that the lungs of premature babies might not be developed enough to produce enough surfactant.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In this case, plaintiffs, who were developers of lung surfactant composition for treating RDS in premature babies, brought suit seeking declaratory judgment of non-infringement and patent invalidity against defendant Abbott Laboratories, Inc., which was the assignee and licensee of a patent for a competing surfactant product.\u00a0 Following trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of defendant.\u00a0 Plaintiff thereafter sought a judgment as a matter of law (\u201cJMOL\u201d) of non-infringement.\u00a0 Judge Arcara, surveying and analyzing the scientific and technical evidence presented at trial, determined that the jury\u2019s verdict that plaintiff had violated defendant\u2019s patent was not supported by substantial evidence, and thus, the Court rejected the verdict and granted plaintiff JMOL of non-infringement.\u00a0 Judge Arcara\u2019s decision was affirmed by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.\u00a0 Judge Arcara\u2019s decision had the practical effect of increasing the availability of life-saving surfactant to premature babies across the nation.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Forest Lab\u2019ys, Inc. v. Abbott Lab\u2019ys<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 1999 WL 33299123 (W.D.N.Y. 1999), <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">aff\u2019d<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 239 F.3d 1305 (Fed. Cir. 2001)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">United States of America v. Robert Delano<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, No. 1:91-CR-00047:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In the late-1980s and early 1990s an extensive and highly publicized federal public corruption investigation led to the indictment of Robert Delano, the City of Buffalo Parks Commissioner, on various charges including RICO, RICO conspiracy, Hobbs Act extortion, and theft from a program receiving federal funds.\u00a0 At trial, testimony was adduced which described some widelyreported and notable conduct by defendant, including the following:\u00a0 defendant ordering holes punched in the ice in Delaware Park Lake to foil the City\u2019s first planned Winterfest as well as ongoing skating activities; defendant sabotaging a 1988 motorcycle racing event which was also scheduled as part of Winterfest and which instead had to be held in Auburn, New York; defendant\u2019s theft of 10 tons of chlorine; defendant providing free trash pickups, hydraulic lifts usage, park benches, and tennis nets to a private club; and in short, defendant treating the Parks Department as his own private enterprise, by ensuring that Parks Department employees and supplies were used in accordance with his own personal interests rather than in the public interest.\u00a0 At the conclusion of trial, defendant was convicted of RICO, RICO conspiracy, Hobbs Act extortion, and theft from a program receiving federal funds and sentenced to concurrent terms of imprisonment of 49 months on each count.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">On appeal, the Second Circuit affirmed defendant\u2019s convictions both for the Hobbs Act violations and for theft from a program receiving federal funds but reversed the RICO and RICO conspiracy convictions.\u00a0 Following remand, Judge Arcara sentenced Delano to 41 months imprisonment, which was affirmed on appeal.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">United States v. Delano<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 825 F.\u202fSupp. 534 (W.D.N.Y. 1993), <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">aff\u2019d in part, rev\u2019d in part<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 55 F.3d 720 (2d Cir. 1995), <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">appeal after remand<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 99 F.3d 402 (2d Cir. 1995)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\"><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/district-courts\/FSupp\/825\/534\/1412620\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">https:\/\/law.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/district-courts\/FSupp\/825\/534\/1412620\/<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1988 \u2013 present\u00a0 Federal Judicial Service:\u00a0 Judge, U.S. District Court,  [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,36,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-judges","category-district-judges","category-judges"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3751"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3751\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4171,"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3751\/revisions\/4171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}