One of our nation’s oldest judges is about to celebrate a milestone birthday. Senior Judge I. Leo Glasser of the Eastern District of New York will be 100 years old tomorrow — and on Monday, he’s going to head right back to work for a criminal sentencing hearing.
Bloomberg Law has additional details on the little birthday bash the Eastern District held for Glasser:
“He lives and breathes the law every day and I think it brings him great joy,” said Larry Krantz, who was Glasser’s first clerk in 1982.
On Wednesday, Glasser, wearing one of his signature bow ties, sat beside Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor at a ceremony at the EDNY courthouse. Glasser spoke for about 20 minutes and listened as colleagues read congratulatory letters from Attorney General Merrick Garland and Chief Justice John Roberts, Krantz said.
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As noted by Bloomberg, just five other judges born in the 20th century have served past 100 (and two of them served until they were 104 years old). Glasser, who oversaw mob boss John Gotti’s trial, is well aware of his advanced age, and reportedly jokes that he doesn’t buy green bananas because of it.
Glasser took senior status in 1993 after the Gotti trial’s conclusion. More than 20 years later, in 2014, he was asked why he continued to serve as a judge. Here’s what he had to say:
“[If] senior judges all decided to go fishing, I think the federal judiciary would be in a great deal of difficulty.”
Senior judges “perform a significant service to the judiciary, and to the country by extension,” he added.
Wishing the happiest of birthdays to Judge Glasser!
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Oldest US Judge Marks 100th Birthday, Then It’s Back to Work [Bloomberg Law]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.