Jesse M. Furman

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On March 24, 2018, United States Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced his decision to add a question about citizenship status to the 2020 Census questionnaire, asserting that it was necessary to help the Justice Department enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965. [9] Two groups of plaintiffs filed lawsuits in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to block the question. [10] The cases were assigned to Furman, who rejected the plaintiffs' claim that adding the question violated the Enumeration Clause of the U.S. Constitution but held that Ross's decision violated the Administrative Procedure Act and that the Voting-Rights-Act-enforcement rationale was a pretext designed to conceal the true reasons for adding the question. [11] Furman entered an order blocking implementation of Ross's decision. [12] On June 27, 2019, the Supreme Court affirmed Furman's order, agreeing that the Voting-Rights-Act-enforcement rationale was pretextual. [13] The Court's decision left open the possibility that Ross could try again to add the citizenship question to the 2020 Census, [13] but the Trump administration did not make a second attempt. [14]

On March 10, 2025, Furman blocked the deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist Immigrations and Custom Enforcement had detained two days earlier. [15] Two days later, Furman granted Khalil two attorney-client-privileged phone calls, but also ruled that he would remain detained. [16]

Personal

Furman is married to Ariela Dubler [17] [18] a former Columbia Law School professor who now heads the Abraham Joshua Heschel School, a Jewish day school in New York. [19] His brother Jason Furman served as an economic adviser to President Obama and is an economics professor at Harvard University. [20]

Furman is Jewish. [17] [21] He has been noted for his strict observance, including adjourning court early for Shabbat and closing his chambers on Rosh Hashanah. [19]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Jesse M. Furman at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges , a publication of the Federal Judicial Center .
  2. "In Memoriam: Jay Furman, 1942-2015". New York University School of Law News. January 5, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 White House: Office of the Press Secretary (June 7, 2011). "President Obama Nominates Four to the United States District Court". whitehouse.gov . Retrieved June 8, 2011 via National Archives.
  4. "United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). judiciary.senate.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  5. Schneider-Mayerson, Anna (November 3, 2005). "The Little Supremes". The New York Observer . Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
  6. The White House: Office of the Press Secretary (June 7, 2011). "Nominations Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov . Retrieved June 8, 2011 via National Archives.
  7. "U.S. Senate Periodical Press Gallery". Archived from the original on May 2, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  8. "On the Nomination (Confirmation Jesse M. Furman, of New York, to be United States District Judge)". www.senate.gov.
  9. Hansi Lo Wang. "How The 2020 Census Citizenship Question Ended Up In Court". NPR.org. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  10. Hansi Lo Wang (April 3, 2018). "More Than 2 Dozen States, Cities Sue To Block Census Citizenship Question". NPR.org.
  11. Hansi Lo Wang. "Judge Orders Trump Administration To Remove 2020 Census Citizenship Question". NPR.org. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  12. Hansi Lo Wang. "Judge Orders Trump Administration To Remove 2020 Census Citizenship Question". NPR.org. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Liptak, Adam (June 27, 2019). "Supreme Court Leaves Census Question on Citizenship in Doubt". The New York Times . Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  14. Hansi Lo Wang. "Trump Backs Off Census Citizenship Question Fight". NPR.org. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  15. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/judge-temporarily-blocks-effort-to-deport-palestinian-activist-who-helped-lead-columbia-student-protests/ar-AA1AAC6e
  16. "Former Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil to remain detained in Louisiana for now". CBS News. March 12, 2025. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
  17. 1 2 "UJA-Federation of New York mourns the passing of Jay Furman, longtime supporter of UJA-Federation and a distinguished leader in our community as a member of UJA-Federation's Finance Committee & Board of Directors". The New York Times . January 6, 2015.
  18. "Furman--Gail. UJA-Federation of New York mourns the passing of Gail Furman, beloved mother and mother-in-law of our friends Jesse Furman and Ariela Dubler who have long demonstrated leadership and an unwavering commitment to the Jewish community". New York Times . April 19, 2019.
  19. 1 2 Sales, Ben (March 10, 2025). "The judge who blocked Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil's deportation is an observant Jew". The Forward . Retrieved March 10, 2025.
  20. Gerstein, Josh (June 17, 2008). "An Ex-New-York-Knife-Juggler To Hone Obama's Econ Policy". The New York Sun . Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  21. "Tribal Allegiance: The Strange Nexus of a Brooklyn Rabbi and Hedge-Fund King Steven Cohen". Tablet Magazine. December 16, 2010. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
Jesse M. Furman
Jesse M. Furman (Judge).jpg
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Assumed office
February 17, 2012
Legal offices
Preceded byJudge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
2012–present
Incumbent