Lawrence Michael McKenna
How Judge McKenna rules, drawn from 5 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge McKenna no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled here.
About Judge McKenna
Lawrence M. McKenna was a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Appointed by President George H.W. Bush, Judge McKenna received a commission on April 30, 1990. Judge McKenna assumed senior status on May 24, 2002 and served until death on February 3, 2023.
How Judge McKenna decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Latine v. Mann, Judge McKenna granted a habeas writ after finding a Confrontation Clause violation from the admission of a non-testifying codefendant's statement that directly incriminated the petitioner.
“In the petition, petitioner argues again that his constitutional rights pursuant to the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution were violated by the admission at trial of statements made by his non-testifying codefendant which directly incriminated him. For the reasons that appear below, the writ is granted.”
Procedural preferences
In Orraca v. Walker, after no party objected to the magistrate judge’s recommendation, he accepted it and dismissed the mixed habeas petition without prejudice.
“The petition is dismissed without prejudice as a mixed petition.”
Cautions
In an SEC insider-trading enforcement action, denies a defendant's summary-judgment motion where fact issues on possession of material non-public information remain.
“By this order, the Court decides a motion submitted on behalf of defendant for summary judgment pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 56 seeking dismissal of plaintiff's civil claims. For the reasons set forth below, defendant's motion is denied.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“By this order, the Court decides a motion submitted on behalf of defendant for summary judgment pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 56 seeking dismissal of plaintiff's civil claims. For the reasons set forth below, defendant's motion is denied.”
“In the petition, petitioner argues again that his constitutional rights pursuant to the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution were violated by the admission at trial of statements made by his non-testifying codefendant which directly incriminated him. For the reasons that appear below, the writ is granted.”
“upon consideration of the Report, this Court accepts the recommendation of the Magistrate Judge. The petition is dismissed without prejudice as a mixed petition.”
“Magistrate Judge Grubin recommended that the above petition for a writ of habeas corpus be denied. No timely objections having been filed, and upon consideration of the Report, this Court accepts the recommendation of the Magistrate Judge. The petition is dismissed.”
“This Court has considered those objections, and concurs with Judge Gorenstein's recommendation, for the reasons set forth in the Report. The writ is denied and the petition is dismissed.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Most visible dockets are old (1989-1991) with blank nature-of-suit; several were filed shortly before his April 1990 commission and inherited. The caseload is not enumerable in a tenure-representative way for a judge whose active service predated reliable electronic docket coverage. Reflects a sparse sample, not a census.
A historical record
Judge McKenna no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled here. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.