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by mhneu 1260 days ago
Before judge Ronnie Abrams, an Obama judge.
2 comments

Judge Abrams is no longer involved in the case. She recused herself due to a potential conflict of interest: https://www.businessinsider.com/ftx-collapse-sbf-judge-stepp...

"...the case was reassigned to Lewis A. Kaplan, a senior judge at the court, legal filings show."

Kaplan was appointed by Bill Clinton in 1994: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_A._Kaplan

Yes. Abrams presided over the plea on Dec 19. Now Kaplan has the case.

Abrams' husband works at Davis Polk, but Davis Polk (firm w/ ~1000 attorneys) has represented FTX in the past. It's pretty typical for these sorts of conflicts to arise, and in this case it's probably best to remove any sniff of a perceived conflict by Abrams stepping aside. Nothing here is going to be controversial -- though our federal courts are currently going through serious turmoil due to events of last few years, albeit not really SDNY and the 2nd Circuit is mostly normal too.

why would this matter in the slightest?