Hon. Frederic Block
April 17, 2024
Honorable Judge Fredric Block was nominated to the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, by President Clinton in 1994 and assumed senior status in 2005. Judge Block received his LL.B. from Cornell Law School in 1959. After which, he was a clerk for the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division until 1961 and then entered private practice until he was appointed to the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York. Judge Block has presided over a number of high-profile cases, including the trials of former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff, Peter Gotti, Lemrick Nelson, and nightclub magnate Peter Gatien. He regularly sits by designation on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition to Race to Judgment, he recently authored the best-selling book, Disrobed: An Inside Look at the Life and Work of a Federal Trial Judge. He also co-authored the 1985 off-Broadway musical Professionally Speaking (music and lyrics). He has published articles on a variety of legal topics.