United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York

2nd Circuit Brooklyn, New York

About This Court

Established in 1865, this federal district court covers the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, as well as Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island. It is one of the busiest federal district courts in the country, handling a high volume of both civil and criminal matters arising from a densely populated and economically active region. The court sits within the Second Circuit and operates courthouses in Brooklyn, Central Islip, and Hauppauge.

The Eastern District of New York has historically presided over significant organized crime prosecutions, national security cases, and complex civil litigation. Its geographic scope includes major international entry points such as John F. Kennedy International Airport and the Port of New York and New Jersey, which contribute to a substantial docket of customs, immigration, and narcotics-related cases.

The court's jurisdiction extends over federal questions and diversity matters arising within its defined territory. With a large and active bench drawn from a diverse legal community, the court reflects the wide range of legal issues that emerge from one of the most populous districts in the United States.

Proceedings are governed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and Federal Rules of Evidence, along with the court's local rules. Bankruptcy cases are handled by the companion Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of New York. Appeals go to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Divisions

Brooklyn Division (Brooklyn), Long Island Division (Central Islip)

Caseload

The court handles a large volume of criminal cases including narcotics trafficking, organized crime, and national security matters, along with complex civil litigation involving commercial disputes, civil rights claims, and immigration. Its proximity to major ports and airports contributes to a significant number of federal customs and border-related cases.

Bar Admission

Attorneys must be admitted to the bar of the State of New York and must apply for admission to the Eastern District of New York separately by filing a written application and paying the required fee. Local rules govern additional requirements, including compliance with the court's electronic filing procedures.

Clerk's Office

225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, NY 11201

(718) 613-2600

Active Judges 32

Name	Appointed By	Confirmed	Law School
Carol Amon	George H.W. Bush	1990	University of Virginia School of Law
Joan Azrack	Barack Obama	2014	New York Law School
Frederic Block	William J. Clinton	1994	Cornell Law School
Margo Brodie	Barack Obama	2012	University of Pennsylvania Law School (now Carey Law School)
Gary Brown	Donald J. Trump	2019	Yale Law School
Sanket Bulsara	Joseph R. Biden	2024	Harvard Law School
Pamela Chen	Barack Obama	2013	Georgetown University Law Center
Nusrat Choudhury	Joseph R. Biden	2023	Yale Law School
Brian Cogan	George W. Bush	2006	Cornell Law School
LaShann DeArcy Hall	Barack Obama	2015	Howard University School of Law
Raymond Dearie	Ronald Reagan	1986	St. John's University School of Law
Ann Donnelly	Barack Obama	2015	Ohio State University College of Law (now Michael E. Moritz College of Law)
Nicholas Garaufis	William J. Clinton	2000	Columbia Law School
Nina Gershon	William J. Clinton	1996	Yale Law School
Israel Glasser	Ronald Reagan	1981	Brooklyn Law School
Hector Gonzalez	Joseph R. Biden	2022	University of Pennsylvania Law School (now Carey Law School)
Diane Gujarati	Donald J. Trump	2020	Yale Law School
Denis Hurley	George H.W. Bush	1991	Fordham University School of Law
Dora Irizarry	George W. Bush	2004	Columbia Law School
Eric Komitee	Donald J. Trump	2019	New York University School of Law
Edward Korman	Ronald Reagan	1985	Brooklyn Law School
Rachel Kovner	Donald J. Trump	2019	Stanford Law School
William Kuntz	Barack Obama	2011	Harvard Law School
Kiyo Matsumoto	George W. Bush	2008	Georgetown University Law Center
Roslynn Mauskopf	George W. Bush	2007	Georgetown University Law Center
Orelia Merchant	Joseph R. Biden	2023	Tulane University Law School
Natasha Merle	Joseph R. Biden	2023	New York University School of Law
Nina Morrison	Joseph R. Biden	2022	New York University School of Law
Ramon Reyes	Joseph R. Biden	2023	Brooklyn Law School
Allyne Ross	William J. Clinton	1994	Harvard Law School
Joanna Seybert	William J. Clinton	1993	St. John's University School of Law
Eric Vitaliano	George W. Bush	2005	New York University School of Law

Local Rules

The Local Rules of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which supplement the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. See the court's official website for the authoritative text.

Civil Rules 83

Rule	Title
Local Admiralty Rule A.1	Application of Rules
Local Admiralty Rule B.1	Affidavit That Defendant Is Not Found Within the District
Local Admiralty Rule B.2	Notice of Attachment
Local Admiralty Rule C.1	Intangible Property
Local Admiralty Rule C.2	Publication of Notice of Action and Arrest; Sale
Local Admiralty Rule C.3	Notice Required for Default Judgment in Action In Rem
Local Admiralty Rule D.1	Return Date in Possessory, Petitory, and Partition Actions
Local Admiralty Rule E.1	Adversary Hearing After Arrest, Attachment or Garnishment
Local Admiralty Rule E.2	Intervenors' Claims
Local Admiralty Rule E.3	Claims by Suppliers for Payment of Charges
Local Admiralty Rule E.4	Preservation of Property
Local Civil Rule 1.1	Application of Rules
Local Civil Rule 1.2	Night Depository
Local Civil Rule 1.7	Fees of Court Clerks and Reporters
Local Civil Rule 1.8	Electronic Equipment and Recording, Broadcasting, and Streaming of Court Matters
Local Civil Rule 1.9	Acceptable Substitutes for Affidavits [formerly Local Civil Rule 1.10]
Local Civil Rule 5.1	Filing of Discovery Materials [Withdrawn]
Local Civil Rule 5.2	Requirements for Electronic Filing and Service; Electronic Signatures by Pro Se Parties; Duty to Review Underlying Orders
Local Civil Rule 5.3	Service by Overnight Delivery
Local Civil Rule 6.1	Service and Filing of Motion Papers
Local Civil Rule 6.2	Orders on Motions
Local Civil Rule 6.3	Motions for Reconsideration
Local Civil Rule 6.4	Computation of Time [Withdrawn]
Local Civil Rule 7.1	Form and Length of Briefs, Motions, and Other Papers
Local Civil Rule 7.1.1	Disclosure Statement
Local Civil Rule 7.2	Authorities to Be Provided to Pro Se Litigants
Local Civil Rule 11.1	Form of Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers [Withdrawn]
Local Civil Rule 12.1	Notice to Pro Se Litigant Who Opposes a Rule 12 Motion Supported by Matters Outside the Pleadings
Local Civil Rule 15.1	Amendment of Pleadings
Local Civil Rule 16.1	Exemptions from Mandatory Scheduling Order
Local Civil Rule 16.2	Entry and Modification of Mandatory Scheduling Orders by Magistrate Judges
Local Civil Rule 23.1	Fees in Class Action and Shareholder Derivative Actions
Local Civil Rule 26.1	Address of Party and Original Owner of Claim to Be Furnished [Withdrawn]
Local Civil Rule 26.2	Assertion of Claim of Privilege
Local Civil Rule 26.3	Uniform Definitions in Discovery Requests
Local Civil Rule 26.4	Cooperation Among Counsel in Discovery [formerly Local Civil Rules 26.5 and 26.7]
Local Civil Rule 26.5	Form Discovery Requests [formerly Local Civil Rule 26.6]
Local Civil Rule 30.1	Counsel Fees on Taking Depositions More Than 100 Miles from Courthouse [Withdrawn]
Local Civil Rule 30.2	Telephonic and Other Remote Depositions [formerly Local Civil Rule 30.3]
Local Civil Rule 30.3	Persons Attending Depositions [formerly Local Civil Rule 30.4]
Local Civil Rule 30.4	Conferences Between Deponent and Defending Attorney [formerly Local Civil Rule 30.6]
Local Civil Rule 33.1	[Intentionally Omitted]
Local Civil Rule 33.2	Standard Discovery in Prisoner Pro Se Actions
Local Civil Rule 33.3	Interrogatories (Southern District Only)
Local Civil Rule 37.1	Verbatim Quotation of Discovery Materials
Local Civil Rule 37.2	Discovery Disputes
Local Civil Rule 37.3	Mode of Raising Discovery and Other Nondispositive Pretrial Disputes with the Court (Eastern District Only) [Withdrawn]
Local Civil Rule 39.1	Custody of Trial and Hearing Exhibits
Local Civil Rule 39.2	Order and Length of Summations
Local Civil Rule 40.1	Trial Scheduling
Local Civil Rule 47.1	Assessment of Jury Costs
Local Civil Rule 53.1	Masters
Local Civil Rule 54.1	Taxable Costs
Local Civil Rule 54.2	Security for Costs
Local Civil Rule 54.3	Entering Satisfaction of Money Judgment
Local Civil Rule 55.1	Certificate of Default
Local Civil Rule 55.2	Default Judgment
Local Civil Rule 56.1	Statements of Material Facts on Motion for Summary Judgment
Local Civil Rule 56.2	Notice to Pro Se Litigant Who Opposes a Summary Judgment
Local Civil Rule 58.1	Remand by an Appellate Court
Local Civil Rule 65.1.1	Security
Local Civil Rule 67.1	Order for Deposit in Interest-Bearing Account
Local Civil Rule 72.1	Proceedings Before Magistrate Judges
Local Civil Rule 72.2	Reference to Magistrate Judge (Eastern District Only) [Withdrawn]
Local Civil Rule 73.1	Consent Jurisdiction Procedure
Local Civil Rule 77.1	Submission of Orders, Judgments and Decrees
Local Civil Rule 81.1	Removal of Cases from State Courts
Local Civil Rule 83.1	Transfer of Cases to Another District
Local Civil Rule 83.2	Settlement of Actions by or on Behalf of Infants or Incompetents, Wrongful Death Actions, and Actions for Conscious Pain and Suffering of the Decedent
Local Civil Rule 83.3	Habeas Corpus
Local Civil Rule 83.4	Publication of Required Public Notices [formerly Local Civil Rule 83.6]
Local Civil Rule 83.5	Notice of Sale [formerly Local Civil Rule 83.7]
Local Civil Rule 83.6	Contempt Proceedings in Civil Cases [formerly Local Civil Rule 83.9]
Local Civil Rule 83.7	Court-Annexed Arbitration (Eastern District Only) [formerly Local Civil Rule 83.10]
Local Civil Rule 83.8	Court-Annexed Mediation (Eastern District Only) [formerly Local Civil Rule 83.11]
Local Civil Rule 83.9	Alternative Dispute Resolution (Southern District Only) [formerly Local Civil Rule 83.12]
Local Civil Rule 83.10	Plan for Certain § 1983 Cases Against Police Department Employees (Southern District Only)
Local Civil Rule 87.1	Civil Rules Emergency
Local Social Security Rule 1.1	Application of Rules
Local Social Security Rule 4.1	Motions for Extensions of Time and Scheduling Orders
Local Social Security Rule 5.1	Default Form and Length for Briefs
Local Social Security Rule 7.1	Obligations of Commissioner in Pro Se Cases
Local Social Security Rule 8.1	Opposition and Reply Briefs in Pro Se Cases

Criminal Rules 14

Rule	Title
Local Criminal Rule 1.1	Application of Rules
Local Criminal Rule 1.2	Notice of Appearance
Local Criminal Rule 12.4	Disclosure Statement
Local Criminal Rule 16.1	Good Faith Requirement for Discovery Motions
Local Criminal Rule 16.2	Timeline for Expert Discovery
Local Criminal Rule 23.1	Free Press — Fair Trial Directives
Local Criminal Rule 34.1	Post-Trial Motions
Local Criminal Rule 45.1	Computation of Time [Withdrawn]
Local Criminal Rule 47.1	Applications for Ex Parte Orders
Local Criminal Rule 49.1	Motion Deadlines and Reconsideration Motions
Local Criminal Rule 49.2	Pro Se Submissions by a Represented Defendant
Local Criminal Rule 58.1	Petty Offenses — Collateral and Appearance
Local Criminal Rule 59.1	Powers of Magistrate Judges
Local Criminal Rule 62.1	Criminal Rules Emergency

Attorney Rules 5

Rule	Title
Local Civil Rule 1.3	Admission to the Bar
Local Civil Rule 1.4	Attorney Appearances; Withdrawal or Displacement of Attorney of Record; Limited-Scope Representation
Local Civil Rule 1.4.1	Law Student Practice
Local Civil Rule 1.5	Discipline of Attorneys
Local Civil Rule 1.6	Duty of Attorneys in Related Cases

Patent Rules 12

Rule	Title
Local Patent Rule 1	Application of Rules
Local Patent Rule 2	Initial Scheduling Conference
Local Patent Rule 3	Certification of Disclosures
Local Patent Rule 4	Admissibility of Disclosures
Local Patent Rule 5	Discovery Objections Based on Local Patent Rules
Local Patent Rule 6	Disclosure of Asserted Claims and Infringement Contentions
Local Patent Rule 7	Invalidity Contentions
Local Patent Rule 8	Disclosure Requirement in Patent Cases Initiated by Declaratory Judgment
Local Patent Rule 9	Duty to Supplement Contentions
Local Patent Rule 10	Opinion of Counsel
Local Patent Rule 11	Joint Claim Terms Chart
Local Patent Rule 12	Claim Construction Briefing

Other Courts in the 2nd Circuit

District of Connecticut New Haven, Connecticut District of Vermont Burlington, Vermont Northern District of New York Syracuse, New York Southern District of New York New York, New York Western District of New York Buffalo, New York