Morris E. Lasker

Morris Edward Lasker (July 17, 1917 – December 25, 2009) was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Morris Edward Lasker
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
In office October 3, 1983 – December 25, 2009
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
In office June 24, 1968 – October 3, 1983
Appointed by	Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	Richard Harrington Levet
Succeeded by	John M. Walker Jr.
Personal details
Born	Morris Edward Lasker July 17, 1917 Hartsdale, New York
Died	December 25, 2009 (aged 92) Cambridge, Massachusetts
Education	Harvard University (B.A.) Yale Law School (LL.B.)

Education and career

Born in Hartsdale, New York, Lasker received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1938 and a Bachelor of Laws from Yale Law School in 1941. He was a staff attorney of United States Senate Committee Investigating National Defense Programs from 1941 to 1942. He served in the United States Army during World War II, from 1942 to 1946. He was in private practice in New York City from 1946 to 1968, also serving as a town attorney of New Castle from 1955 to 1957, and as a justice of the peace for New Castle from 1957 to 1958.[1]

Federal judicial service

On November 28, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Lasker to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by Judge Richard Harrington Levet. Lasker was recommended by Senator Robert F. Kennedy and temporarily held up by Senator Jacob K. Javits,[2] but he was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 24, 1968, and received his commission the same day.[1] After Senator Kennedy's assassination Senator Javits personally escorted Lasker to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and apologized for holding up Lasker's confirmation. He assumed senior status on October 3, 1983. In 1994 he and his wife moved to the Boston, Massachusetts area so that they could be closer to their children.[3] From then until his death he served as a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts by special designation. He died of cancer at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts on December 25, 2009.[3]

Notable case

In 1975, Lasker denied a preliminary injunction to restrain the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) from broadcasting edited versions of three separate programs originally written and performed by Monty Python for broadcast by the BBC, brought to court by Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin.[4]

References

1. Morris Edward Lasker at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
2. Richard L. Madden, "Javits Delaying A Judgeship Here; Says He Wants To Study Setup of Federal Court," The New York Times, Dec. 14, 1967, page 68.
3. Marquard, Bryan (December 27, 2009), "Morris Lasker, 92; judge fought mandatory sentencing laws", The Boston Globe, pp. B10, retrieved 2009-12-28

Sources

• Morris Edward Lasker at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.