Benchslaps

When Judge Rakoff Tells You to STFU, You Listen

Judge Jed Rakoff thinks this litigant has officially "lost the right to complain" in his courtroom.

The trustee… having for more than three years issued empty threats to seek a halt to the attorney general’s suit, has lost his right to complain. Even on the merits, moreover, his bluster proves to be without substance.

— Judge Jed Rakoff(Opens in a new window) (S.D.N.Y.), issuing a harsh benchslap to Irving Picard(Opens in a new window), the trustee involved in the Bernie Madoff case, for trying to block a settlement(Opens in a new window) he wasn’t involved in between J. Ezra Merkin and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman(Opens in a new window).