John T. Elfvin
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John Thomas Elfvin (born June 30, 1917 in Montour Falls, New York) is a senior judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. Elfvin has been a federal judge since his nomination to the court by President Gerald Ford in 1974. He assumed senior judge status in 1987. Thus, he essentially acted as a pro bono, or volunteer, judge for 20 years because federal judges can retire at full pay.
Judge Elfvin received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1942 and was a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity there. He earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1947 from the Georgetown University Law School following service in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Elfvin clerked for Elijah Barrett Prettyman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1947-48). After private practice in New York City at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and for several firms in Buffalo, New York, he served three years as assistant U.S. Attorney from 1955-58. He returned to private practice in Buffalo from 1958-1969 during which time he was a member of the Board of Supervisors for Erie County, a member of the Buffalo Common Council. Elfvin served one year on the Supreme Court of New York in 1969 and was returned to private practice "by popular demand" before becoming U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York in 1972.
Judge Elfvin's indepedence sometimes caused controversy. He was admonished by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals for a failure to follow remand instructions. The latest was from United States vs Benjamin (05-3677-cr) which the court stated, “This is, therefore, the third case in two years, in which Judge Elfvin failed in the initial sentencing proceeding to comply with the requirements of notice and explanation for the imposition of a non-Guidelines sentence and then, on remand, failed to follow a direction of this court to comply with those requirements. This pattern of behavior is disturbing evidence of willfulness. The need to remove Judge Elfvin from this case being self-evident, we order reassignment to a different Judge”. It should be noted, however, that the United States Supreme Court, in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), ultimately agreed with Judge Elfvin, without citing the Benjamin case, in determining that the United States Sentencing Guidelines are not mandatory.
Judge Elfvin retired from the federal bench after nearly 33 years of service, on Ocotber 5, 2007. In 2005, he received the prestigious Outstanding Jurist award of the Bar Association of Erie County for his contributions to the administration of justice. He was a favorite of trial lawyers, described as a "trial lawyers' judge" based on his excellent judicial temperament, work ethic, attention to detail and knowledge of the law.
