Harold Baer, Jr.
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Harold Baer, Jr. (born 1933 in New York, New York) is a Federal District Judge in the Southern District of New York. He received his BA from Hobart College in 1954, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his LLB from Yale Law School in 1957.
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[edit] Early career
Baer's legal career began as an assistant to the General Counsel of Greater New York Mutual Insurance in 1958. He was then Assistant Counsel to the New York State Commission on the Governmental Operations of the City of New York (1959-60) and New York State Commission of Investigation (1960-61). From 1961 to 1967 he was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York. He then served as Executive director, Civilian Complaint Review Board New York City Police Department from 1967-1968 before going back to the US Attorney's office as the head of the Chief Criminal Division from 1970 to 1972. He was then an adjunct professor at New York Law School from 1974-1983.
[edit] Judicial career
Baer was elected to serve in the New York Supreme Court for New York County in 1982 and served until 1992. He was then Executive Judicial Officer for the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service, Inc from 1992 to 1994. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 26, 1994, to fill a seat vacated by Robert W. Sweet. He was confirmed by the Senate on August 9 and received his commission the next day. Judge Baer found his judicial career in a firestorm in 1996 when he issued an opinion that suppressed evidence in a drug case in the case of US v. Bayless, 913 F. Supp. 232 (SDNY 1996). In a legal opinion that generated much public criticism, and which was written with the help of a a candidate for an LLM (Masters in Law) named Jennifer Chapin, the Judge ruled that no reasonable suspicion existed to stop a car when the car was in a known drug area, it was 5am in the morning, the car had Michigan plates, it was doubled parked, four men approached the car and, without talking to the driver, and put two large duffle bags into the trunk of the car. When the police approached the car, the four men walked off in different directions. The police then stopped the car to question the driver. The driver consented to a search of her car and 34 kilos of cocaine and 2 kilos of heroin were found in the trunk and the driver ultimately admitted that she had made numerous drug runs between Detroit and Manhattan over the past few years. The Judge suppressed the cocaine and heroin that was found in the car as well as the incriminating statements of the defendant saying there was no reasonable suspicion for the police officers to stop the car in the first place. The judge questioned the testimony of the police officer and credited the conflicting testimony of the defendant. There was a huge public outrage against the decision, and President Clinton even talked of trying to get Judge Baer's to resign. Republicans in Congress talked about possible impeachment of Judge Baer. Ultimately, in a move that was criticized by some as hurting the independent nature of the judiciary, the Judge issued an opinion that reversed his earlier decision and found that there was reasonable suspicion to stop the car and question the occupant. The judge placed the blame on the prosecution for not bringing out enough information which would have aided his initial opinion. See US v. Bayless, 921 F. Supp. 211 (SDNY 1996). [1]
Judge Baer has since enjoyed a long tenure on the bench and assumed senior status on September 8, 2004.
[edit] Notable cases
- Smith v. Islamic Emirate of Afg., 262 F. Supp. 2d 217
- US v. Bayless, 913 F. Supp. 232 (SDNY 1996); revised 921 F. Supp. 211 (SDNY 1996)
[edit] Publications
- New York Evidentiary Foundations (1998), with Randolph N. Jonakait, E. Stewart Jones, Jr. and Edward J. Imwinkelried.
