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→‎Federal judicial service: Among the notable cases presided over by Saris was a 2018 Securities and Exchange Commission civil suit against Greek Orthodox priest Emmanuel Lemelson, regarding a short sale.<ref>
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==Federal judicial service==
==Federal judicial service==
On the recommendation of [[United States Senate|Senators]] [[Ted Kennedy]] and [[John Kerry]], Saris was nominated as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts by President [[Bill Clinton]] on October 27, 1993, to a seat vacated by [[Walter Jay Skinner]]. She was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on November 20, 1993, and received her commission on November 24, 1993. She served as Chief Judge from January 1, 2013, until December 31, 2019.
On the recommendation of [[United States Senate|Senators]] [[Ted Kennedy]] and [[John Kerry]], Saris was nominated as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts by President [[Bill Clinton]] on October 27, 1993, to a seat vacated by [[Walter Jay Skinner]]. She was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on November 20, 1993, and received her commission on November 24, 1993. She served as Chief Judge from January 1, 2013, until December 31, 2019.

Among the notable cases presided over by Saris was a 2018 [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] civil suit against Greek Orthodox priest [[Emmanuel Lemelson]], regarding a short sale.<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-08|title=Jury Clears Priest in 'Short-and-Distort' Scheme|url=https://www.cfo.com/risk-compliance/2021/11/jury-clears-priest-in-short-and-distort-scheme/|access-date=2022-02-23|website=CFO|language=en-US}}</ref> After a [[federal jury]] returned a mixed verdict,<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|title=Hedge Fund Priest Seeks Total Victory Over SEC Stock Suit - Law360|url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1445720/hedge-fund-priest-seeks-total-victory-over-sec-stock-suit|access-date=2022-02-25|website=www.law360.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Alpert|first=Bill|title=The SEC Wins Mixed Verdict Against a Short Seller Who Wouldn't Settle|url=https://www.barrons.com/articles/sec-trial-shortseller-51636584385|access-date=2022-02-26|website=www.barrons.com|language=en-US}}</ref> the SEC sought $2.3 million in penalties against Lemelson, to include disgorgement and interest<ref>{{Cite web |title=Unrepentant Priest Faces 5-Year Injunction In SEC Fraud Case - Law360 |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1479317/unrepentant-priest-faces-5-year-injunction-in-sec-fraud-case |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=www.law360.com |language=en}}</ref> along with a lifetime injunction barring Lemelson from the securities industry.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hedge Fund Priest Fights SEC Ban After Mixed Fraud Verdict - Law360|url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1457424/hedge-fund-priest-fights-sec-ban-after-mixed-fraud-verdict|access-date=2023-03-26|website=www.law360.com|language=en}}</ref> Saris, noting that jurors did not accept the SEC's argument that Lemelson had engaged in a "short and distort" scheme,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-08 |title=Jury Clears Priest in 'Short-and-Distort' Scheme |url=https://www.cfo.com/risk-compliance/2021/11/jury-clears-priest-in-short-and-distort-scheme/ |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=CFO |language=en-US}}</ref> rejected the SEC's proposed penalty, fining Lemelson only $160,000, while enjoining Lemelson and his firm from further [[Security (finance)|securities]] violations for the next five years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hedge Fund Priest Must Pay SEC $160,000 Following Jury Verdict |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/securities-law/hedge-fund-priest-must-pay-sec-160-000-following-jury-verdict |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=news.bloomberglaw.com |language=en}}</ref>


===United States Sentencing Commission===
===United States Sentencing Commission===

Revision as of 01:09, 19 April 2023

Patti Saris
Saris in 2015
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
In office
January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2019
Preceded byMark Lawrence Wolf
Succeeded byF. Dennis Saylor IV
Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission
In office
December 22, 2010 – January 3, 2017
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byWilliam K. Sessions III
Succeeded byWilliam H. Pryor Jr. (Acting)
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 24, 1993
Appointed byBill Clinton
Preceded byWalter Jay Skinner
Personal details
Born (1951-07-20) July 20, 1951 (age 73)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
SpouseArthur I. Segel
EducationRadcliffe College (AB) Harvard University (JD)

Patti B. Saris (born July 20, 1951) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She is also the former chair of the United States Sentencing Commission.[1]

Early life and education

Saris was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She attended Girls' Latin School,[2] and later received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe College in 1973 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1976.

Saris was a law clerk for Judge Robert Braucher of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from 1976 to 1977. She was in private practice with the law firm of Foley, Hoag & Eliot in Boston from 1977 to 1979, served as Staff counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary from 1979 to 1981, and then returned to private practice with the firm of Berman, Dittmar & Engel, P.C. from 1981 to 1982.

Saris then served as Assistant United States Attorney of the District of Massachusetts from 1982 to 1986. She was Chief of the Civil Division from 1984 to 1986. From 1986 to 1989 she was a United States magistrate judge for the District of Massachusetts. She was an associate justice in the Trial Court of Massachusetts, Superior Court Department from 1989 to 1993.

Federal judicial service

On the recommendation of Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, Saris was nominated as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts by President Bill Clinton on October 27, 1993, to a seat vacated by Walter Jay Skinner. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 20, 1993, and received her commission on November 24, 1993. She served as Chief Judge from January 1, 2013, until December 31, 2019.

Among the notable cases presided over by Saris was a 2018 Securities and Exchange Commission civil suit against Greek Orthodox priest Emmanuel Lemelson, regarding a short sale.[3][4] After a federal jury returned a mixed verdict,[5][6] the SEC sought $2.3 million in penalties against Lemelson, to include disgorgement and interest[7] along with a lifetime injunction barring Lemelson from the securities industry.[8] Saris, noting that jurors did not accept the SEC's argument that Lemelson had engaged in a "short and distort" scheme,[9] rejected the SEC's proposed penalty, fining Lemelson only $160,000, while enjoining Lemelson and his firm from further securities violations for the next five years.[10]

United States Sentencing Commission

In April 2010, President Obama nominated Saris as Commissioner and Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission. She was confirmed by the Senate on December 22, 2010[11][12] and sworn in by Justice Elena Kagan on February 16, 2011.[13] Her term expired on January 3, 2017.

Personal life

Saris has lived in Brookline, Massachusetts, and she has four children.[14] She enjoys reading books, and in one case had read the novel of a convicted drug kingpin who later stood before her seeking a reduction in his life sentence.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Saris to Chair United States Sentencing Commission" (PDF). United States Sentencing Commission. December 23, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  2. ^ "Patti B. Saris Oral History, Chief Justice, US District Court for Massachusetts; Staffer for Edward Kennedy, Senate Judiciary Committee". www.emkinstitute.org.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Jury Clears Priest in 'Short-and-Distort' Scheme". CFO. 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  5. ^ "Hedge Fund Priest Seeks Total Victory Over SEC Stock Suit - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  6. ^ Alpert, Bill. "The SEC Wins Mixed Verdict Against a Short Seller Who Wouldn't Settle". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
  7. ^ "Unrepentant Priest Faces 5-Year Injunction In SEC Fraud Case - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  8. ^ "Hedge Fund Priest Fights SEC Ban After Mixed Fraud Verdict - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  9. ^ "Jury Clears Priest in 'Short-and-Distort' Scheme". CFO. 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  10. ^ "Hedge Fund Priest Must Pay SEC $160,000 Following Jury Verdict". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  11. ^ "PN1714 - Nomination of Patti B. Saris for United States Sentencing Commission, 111th Congress (2009–2010)". www.congress.gov. 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  12. ^ "PN1713 - Nomination of Patti B. Saris for United States Sentencing Commission, 111th Congress (2009–2010)". www.congress.gov. 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  13. ^ "President Obama Nominates Two United States Sentencing Commission". whitehouse.gov. April 28, 2010. Retrieved October 4, 2010 – via National Archives.
  14. ^ Wen, Patricia; Mohl, Bruce (10 May 1998). "A practical Mother's Day gift". Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. p. 32. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  15. ^ Walker, Adrian (12 Feb 2016). "Throw the book at him". Newspapers.com. The Boston Globe. p. B1. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
1993–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission
2010–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
2013–2019 		Succeeded by
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