Dennis Jacobs
How Judge Jacobs rules, drawn from 56 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Jacobs
Dennis G. Jacobs is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Appointed by President George H.W. Bush, Judge Jacobs received a commission on October 2, 1992. Judge Jacobs assumed senior status on May 31, 2019.
Judge Jacobs's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Jacobs's own (checked October 11, 2026), so the court's local rules and general orders are the place to look (court page ↗).
How Judge Jacobs decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In KATEL Ltd. Liability Co. v. AT&T Corp., he held that the International Telecommunications Regulations gave the carrier no private right of action against AT&T because KATEL identified no provision creating one.
“No wording in the ITRs creates a private right of action, and KATEL cites none.”
In Cavello Bay Reinsurance Ltd. v. Shubin Stein, the panel held that a private placement involving a Bermudan investor and holding company was predominantly foreign even assuming a domestic transaction, and affirmed dismissal of the Section 10(b) claim.
“For even if a transaction occurs in the United States, the features and incidents of the transaction may nevertheless be so foreign that it is not regulated by § 10(b).”
In United States v. Grimm, Jacobs held that a later interest payment resulted from a completed conspiracy and did not extend the conspiracy’s duration for limitations purposes.
“the advantageous interest payment is the result of a completed conspiracy, and is not in furtherance of one that is ongoing.”
In Citigroup Global Markets v. Abbar, he held that a customer under FINRA Rule 12200 either purchases a good or service from a FINRA member or has an account with one.
“We hold that a ‘customer’ under FINRA Rule 12200 is one who, while not a broker or dealer, either (1) purchases a good or service from a FINRA member, or (2) has an account with a FINRA member.”
Procedural preferences
A probation officer may implement a supervised-release condition when the court supplies a decision standard that constrains discretion and prevents arbitrary enforcement; the court itself must still impose the condition.
“In essence, we ask whether the probation officer ‘is equipped with a standard of decision that constrains its discretion and avoids arbitrary use of its delegated authority.’”
Cautions
In Fernandez v. Capra, the panel held that the state court unreasonably rejected an eyewitness’s recantation under habeas review and directed issuance of a writ unless the petitioner was retried.
“The state court's decision contains sound reasons to credit Canela's recantation, and no plausible reason to discredit it.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the district court.”
“We conclude that the plan administrator's interpretation of one of the eligibility requirements for a Disability Retirement Pension was arbitrary and capricious. We therefore reverse the district court's dismissal and remand with instructions to return the case to the Fund for reconsideration in light of this opinion.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.”
“We hold that a party may forfeit subject-matter jurisdiction by failing to invoke it timely. We accordingly AFFIRM.”
“For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the district court's grant of Bristol-Myers's motion to dismiss.”
“The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.”
“We conclude that the IPKCA is not vague as applied to Houtar and that both sentencing enhancements were applied properly. Accordingly, we AFFIRM the conviction and the sentence.”
“For the foregoing reasons, the petition for review is DENIED.”
“Accordingly, the state court's rejection of Canela's recantation was an 'unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented,' 28 U.S.C. 2254(d); therefore, the state court unreasonably denied Fernandez's second motion for a new trial. ... we REVERSE and REMAND to the district court, with instruction to comply with our February 5, 2019 Order, directing the district court to issue a writ of habeas corpus to Fernandez.”
“We conclude that the State trial court's exclusion of evidence violated Scrimo's constitutional right to present a complete defense. Accordingly, we reverse without reaching Scrimo's ineffective assistance of counsel claim.”
“For the foregoing reasons, we reverse and remand the case to the district court. The court shall issue a writ of habeas corpus to Nappi by the thirtieth calendar day after the issuance of our mandate unless the state has, by that time, taken concrete and substantial steps to retry Nappi.”
“Accordingly, we grant the petition in part and remand the case to the BIA to determine whether Linares-Urrutia's asylum claim was timely. We dismiss the petition as to the remaining claims.”
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