Reena Raggi

How Judge Raggi rules, drawn from 39 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Position
circuit
Appointed by
George W. Bush (Republican)
Commissioned
2002-10-04
Education
Wellesley College (B.A., 1973, Phi Beta Kappa); Harvard Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1976)
Signed orders read
39

How Judge Raggi decides

Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.

What persuades

A private company's hash-value match does not authorize police to open and visually inspect an unopened digital file without a warrant when that examination would reveal new details beyond the private search.

“To secure that further evidence, police had to conduct a visual examination of the unopened Maher file image. Because that search went beyond Google’s own hash value search of the Maher file, it required a warrant.”

A true-threat prosecution must prove that the defendant subjectively understood the threatening character of the statements, with the First Amendment requiring at least awareness of the risk that others would perceive threatened violence.

“the ‘First Amendment still requires proof that the defendant had some subjective understanding of the threatening nature of his statements.’”

A statutory reference to a prior sex offense can require a categorical comparison of the offense while still calling for a circumstance-specific inquiry into whether the prior victim was a minor.

“Valder fails to demonstrate error in the application of § 3559(e)(1)’s minor-victim requirement to his case because that requirement is circumstance-specific, rather than categorical, and the circumstances of Valder’s prior New York State sex offense satisfy the minor-victim requirement.”

Procedural preferences

Certification to the state's highest court is appropriate when state and local laws do not clearly answer a determinative question, state courts have not construed them, and the answer significantly affects important state interests.

“Because the laws do not speak clearly to that question, New York courts have not yet construed these laws, and any construction will significantly affect the state’s important interests in the conduct of law enforcement activities, we do not now attempt to answer it ourselves.”

Cautions

At summary judgment, plaintiffs asserting pre-enforcement standing must produce evidence of likely enforcement. No past threat or enforcement and an unqualified governmental disavowal defeated that showing.

“the City has not enforced or threatened to enforce the Guaranty Law against them or anyone else in the past, and it unqualifiedly disavows intent to enforce the law against the Bochner Plaintiffs in the future.”

In a civil-forfeiture proceeding, a certificate of reasonable cause cannot issue merely because the original seizure had reasonable cause; the governing statute requires entry of judgment for the claimant.

“certificate of reasonable cause is properly issued under CAFRA only ‘[u]pon the entry of a judgment for the claimant.’”

When qualified immunity resolves a case because the asserted right was not clearly established, she may avoid announcing a broader constitutional right whose reach is unnecessary to the disposition.

“I write separately because, on the qualified immunity point, I think it unnecessary and inadvisable to go further in this particular case and to pronounce a First Amendment right to record any law enforcement activity occurring in public”

Signed rulings

A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.

United States v. Florez
05-2999-cr · 2006-05-03
Appeal (appellant (defendant Jose Dorance Florez)) Denied

“We reject these claims as without merit and hereby affirm the judgment of conviction.”

ITC Ltd. v. Punchgini, Inc.
05-4192-cv · 2008-02-26
Appeal (appellant (plaintiffs ITC Limited and ITC Hotels)) Denied

“Having received the Court of Appeals' response, ... we now affirm the district court's award of summary judgment in its entirety.”

Ajlani v. Chertoff
07-1568-cv · 2008-10-07
Appeal (appellant (plaintiff Majed Ajlani)) Denied

“We now answer that question in the negative and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of dismissal.”

United States v. Pizzonia
07-4314-cr · 2009-08-19
Appeal (appellant (defendant Dominick Pizzonia)) Denied

“As Judge Weinstein correctly observed, even though the predicate acts proved in this case were outside the statute of limitations, other trial evidence permitted the jury to conclude that both the charged racketeering conspiracy and Pizzonia's membership in it continued into the limitations period. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of conviction.”

ReliaStar Life Insurance Co. of New York v. EMC National Life Co.
07-0828-cv · 2009-04-09
Appeal (appellant (ReliaStar Life Insurance Co.)) Granted

“We conclude that it does not and, accordingly, reverse the judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ... insofar as it vacated that part of an arbitration award requiring respondent EMC National Life Company ... to pay such fees to petitioner ReliaStar Life Insurance Co. of New York.”

Ericksson v. Commissioner of Social Security
07-3627-cv · 2009-02-19
Appeal (appellant (plaintiff Sandra Ericksson)) Granted

“Accordingly, the challenged judgment is REVERSED and the case REMANDED with instructions to award [EAJA fees].”

United States v. Parker
08-4199-cr · 2009-08-14
Appeal (appellant (defendant Travious Parker)) Denied

“Because we identify no error in the first sentencing challenge, we need not address the second, as any error would necessarily be harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. ... Accordingly, the judgment of conviction is hereby AFFIRMED.”

In re Baker (Swimelar v. Baker)
09-4656-bk · 2010-05-14
Appeal (appellant (Chapter 13 Trustee Mark W. Swimelar)) Denied

“We conclude that New York law permits the debtor to exempt the annuity payments and that he gave consideration for the contract when he released a wrongful death claim. AFFIRMED.”

United States v. Thorn
11-37-cr(L) · 2011-10-20
Appeal (cross-appellant (United States)) Granted

“Because defendant's Santos-based claim is procedurally barred, the money laundering count of conviction should not have been vacated. All other arguments raised by the parties on these cross-appeals are moot. AMENDED JUDGMENT VACATED AND PRIOR JUDGMENT REINSTATED.”

Kruse v. Securities Investor Protection Corp. (In re Bernard L. Madoff Inv. Sec. LLC)
12-0389-bk · 2013-02-22
Appeal (appellants (indirect Madoff investors via feeder funds)) Denied

“Accordingly, like the Trustee, the bankruptcy court, and the district court, we conclude that appellants do not qualify as BLMIS 'customers' under SIPA.”

Johnson v. Priceline.com, Inc.
12-1744-cv · 2013-03-27
Appeal (appellants (plaintiffs Lee Johnson and Joey Marie Kelly, putative class)) Denied

“Like the district court, we conclude that plaintiffs fail as a matter of law to plead a fiduciary relationship and, accordingly, affirm the challenged judgment.”

United States v. Kleiner
13-2949-cr · 2014-09-02
Appeal (appellant (defendant Cary Lee Kleiner)) Denied

“The argument is defeated by the reasoning this court employed to construe U.S.S.G. 2B1.1(b)(11)(C)(ii) in United States v. Sash, which we here conclude applies equally to U.S.S.G. 2B1.1(b)(11)(C)(i).”

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