New Second Circuit Judge. President Obama has nominated Judge Robert Chatigny for a seat on the Second Circuit. Judge Chatigny currently sits as a district court judge in the District of Connecticut.

More information about the appointment can be found here.

Lynne Stewart. The Second Circuit refused to rehear en banc its decision relating to the sentence of attorney Lynne Stewart. The decision denying rehearing en banc in United States v. Stewart, along with the concurrences (by one by Chief Judge Jacobs and joined by Judges Wesley and Hall and one by Judge Pooler) and dissent (by Judges Cabranes and Raggi) can be found here. Even Judge Cabranes's dissent did not favor en banc review in order to shorten Lynne Stewart's sentence or even to maintain the lenient sentence imposed by the District Court. He felt that certain issues should have been addressed, but were not, by the panel. These issues included the reasonableness of Lynne Stewart's sentence, the "nature" and "seriousness" of Stewart's offense and the purported lack of harm caused by the offense. It is likely that she will be spending a longer period behind bars than was originally thought.

Holocaust insurance claims. The plaintiffs, relatives of victims of the Holocaust, sought to recover insurance proceeds from policies purchased by the victims. The Second Circuit, agreeing with the District Court, held that the state law claims were preempted by the United States foreign policy, which favors the resolution of such claims by the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims. The Court's decision was based on the Supreme Court case, American Insurance Association v. Garamendi.

The decision in In re Assicurizioni Generali, S.P.A. can be found here.