{"id":3765,"date":"2024-03-01T11:34:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T16:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/?p=3765"},"modified":"2025-02-06T09:46:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T14:46:22","slug":"john-l-sinatra-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/judges\/john-l-sinatra-jr\/","title":{"rendered":"John L. Sinatra, Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">2019 \u2013 present<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\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 Donald J. Trump on May 15, 2018, and renominated on May 21, 2019, to a seat vacated by Hon. William M. Skretny.\u00a0 Confirmed by the Senate on December 4, 2019, and received commission on December 5, 2019.<\/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\">State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, J.D., 1996<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"auto\">State University of New York at Buffalo, B.A., 1993<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233279&quot;:true,&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\">Hodgson Russ, LLP, Buffalo, New York, 2008-2019<\/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\">Senior Counsel, U.S. Department of Commerce, 2007-2008<\/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\">Jones Day, Cleveland, Ohio, 1998-2007<\/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\">Law Clerk, New York Court of Appeals, 1996-1998<\/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\">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><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Chistian v. Nigrelli<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, No. 1:22-CV-00695; <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Spencer v. Nigrelli<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, No. 6:22-CV-06486:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&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\">After the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">New York State Rifle &amp; Pistol Association v. Bruen<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, New York State enacted a statute that, among other things, imposed various restrictions on firearm possession.\u00a0 Several challenges to that legislation were filed throughout the state, including in the Western District of New York.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&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 one such case, Judge Sinatra granted the plaintiff a preliminary injunction that enjoined defendants from enforcing a provision of the statute making it a felony for a licensed holder to possess a firearm on all private property absent express consent.\u00a0 <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Christian v. Nigrelli<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 642 F.\u202fSupp.\u202f3d 393 (W.D.N.Y. 2022).\u00a0 In particular, Judge Sinatra found that the plaintiff was likely to succeed on his claim that the provision, which prevented him from carrying his firearm onto private property open to the public, violated his Second Amendment rights.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&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 another case, Judge Sinatra granted the plaintiff a preliminary injunction that enjoined a different provision of the statute \u2013 one that made it a felony for a licensed holder to possess a firearm at any place of worship or religious observation.\u00a0 <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Spencer v. Nigrelli<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 648 F.\u202fSupp.\u202f3d 451 (W.D.N.Y. 2022).\u00a0 Here, Judge Sinatra found that the plaintiff was likely to succeed on his claim that this provision violated his First Amendment rights under the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause and on his claim that the provision violated his Second Amendment rights.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&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\">The Second Circuit addressed the defendants\u2019 appeals of the preliminary injunctions in <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Christian <\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">and <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Nigrelli<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, along with a case from the Northern District of New York that resulted in a preliminary injunction based on the same state statute.\u00a0 <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Antonyuk v. Chiumento<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 89 F.4th 271 (2d Cir. 2023).\u00a0 The Second Circuit affirmed the preliminary injunction on Second Amendment grounds in <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Christian<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u00a0 As to the preliminary injunction in <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Spencer<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, the Second Circuit affirmed on the basis of the Free Exercise Clause and did not reach the other issues presented.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&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\">Christian v. Nigrelli<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 642 F.\u202fSupp.\u202f3d 393 (W.D.N.Y. 2022); <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Spencer v. Nigrelli<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 648 F.\u202fSupp.\u202f3d 451 (W.D.N.Y. 2022)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\"><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/christian-v-nigrelli\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/christian-v-nigrelli<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\"><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/spencer-v-nigrelli\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/spencer-v-nigrelli<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{&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\">Hund v. Cuomo, et al.<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, No. 1:20-CV-01176:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&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\">Judge Sinatra granted a preliminary injunction that enjoined a New York State COVID-19-related restriction that allowed establishments licensed by the New York State Liquor Authority to provide live music that is incidental to the dining experience but disallowed advertised, ticketed live music.\u00a0 On appeal, the Second Circuit remanded the case for the district court to consider the preliminary injunction anew, in light of changed circumstances \u2013 namely, updated guidance that arguably repealed the enjoined restriction.\u00a0 After remand, the district court acknowledged the parties\u2019 stipulation of dismissal and granted their joint request to vacate the preliminary injunction with respect to the defendants.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&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\">Hund v. Cuomo<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 501 F.\u202fSupp.\u202f3d 185 (W.D.N.Y. 2020), <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">remanded sub nom,<\/span><\/i> <i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Hund v. Bradley<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 845 F.\u202fApp\u2019x 78 (2d Cir. 2021)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\"><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/hund-v-cuomo\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">https:\/\/casetext.com\/case\/hund-v-cuomo<\/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>2019 \u2013 present\u00a0 Federal Judicial Service:\u00a0 Judge, U.S. District Court,  [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,36,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3765","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\/3765","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=3765"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4983,"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3765\/revisions\/4983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.ca2.uscourts.gov\/wdny-125\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}