Robert W. Sweet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Workman Sweet
Robert W. Sweet
In office
1978 – 1991 (semi-retired into senior status)
Nominated by Jimmy Carter
Preceded by Inzer B. Wyatt
Succeeded by Harold Baer, Jr.
Born 1922
Yonkers, New York

Robert Workman Sweet (born 1922 in Yonkers, New York) is an American jurist and currently a senior United States federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Contents

[edit] Early life and career

Sweet attended Yale University and obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from Yale Law School in 1948. From 1953 to 1955, he was an Assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. He served as the deputy mayor of New York City from 1966 to 1969[1], and then spent several years as a lawyer in private practice with the large New York law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

[edit] District judge

Sweet was appointed to the federal court for the Southern District of New York by President Jimmy Carter and confirmed in 1978. He semi-retired into senior status in 1991.[1] One of Sweet's law clerks was Eliot Spitzer, who later became Governor of New York.[2]

[edit] Consumers' lawsuit against McDonald's

One of the controversial cases he decided was Pelman v McDonald's Corp., a case involving a group of teenagers who sued McDonald's restaurant chain, claiming the food sold by McDonald's caused their obesity. Judge Sweet dismissed the case in 2003 and said "it is not the place of the law to protect them against their own excesses".[3] However, the plaintiffs appealed to United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and in 2005 the circuit court vacated the district court's dismissal and ruled that Sweet had issued the dismissal incorrectly.[4]

[edit] New York Times and Judith Miller controversy

In 2005, in New York Times v. Gonzales, Judge Sweet decided that The New York Times can maintain the confidentiality of its sources, refusing to dismiss Times' suit against Department of Justice in the Judith Miller controversy. However, later the Second Circuit again reversed his decision and allowed Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to access phone records of New York Times journalists.[5]

[edit] Opposition to War on Drugs

Judge Sweet has expressed strong opposition to the United States War on Drugs, saying the drug war is "expensive, ineffective and harmful" and that only "gangs and cartels benefit from current drug laws".[6] In an interview with PBS, he said that the mandatory minimum sentence for drug offenses violates due process and separation of powers.[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Sweet, Robert Workman
  2. ^ New York Governor official biography
  3. ^ Court dismisses McDonald's obesity case BBC News
  4. ^ Circuit Court allows some claims and remands - Pelman v. McDonald's Corporation
  5. ^ Court Hands New York Times a Setback in Miller Case Joseph Goldstein
  6. ^ Abolition And Reform Robert W. Sweet
  7. ^ Interview: Robert Sweet PBS


Persondata
NAME Sweet, Robert W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sweet, Robert Workman; Sweet, Robert
SHORT DESCRIPTION U.S. District Court judge of Southern New York District
DATE OF BIRTH 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Yonkers, New York
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH