Charles Proctor Sifton

Education and career

Federal judicial service

Notable cases

• In a 1982 opinion, Sifton held that the New York City firefighter eligibility test discriminated against female applicants. See Brenda Berkman, et al. v. The City of New York, CV-79-1813, 536 F. Supp. 177, aff’d Berkman v. City of New York, 705 F.2d 584. The case resulted in the first female firefighters being permitted to join the NYFD.
• In a 1987 case, Judge Sifton found for the Lubavitch congregation in their suit against Barry Gourary, the grandson of the late Rebbe Joseph I. Schneersohn to recover a collection of books from the Rebbe's library. See Agudas Chasidei Chabad v. Gourary, CV-85-2909, 650 F. Supp. 1463, aff’d 833 F.2d 431. The Lubavitch community continue to celebrate the favorable decision in an annual holiday named "Hey Teves", meaning the fifth day of the Hebrew month of Teves, the Hebrew date on which the opinion was issued.
• In another well known case, in 1992, Sifton found illegal the United States' seizure of RU-486 abortion pills that a pregnant woman had bought in France. The Supreme Court reversed his decision, but the publicity helped build support for the drug’s U.S. approval in 2000. See Leona Benten v. David Kessler, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, CV-92-3161, 799 F. Supp. 281, order stayed by USCA No. 92-6170., aff’d, 505 U.S. 1084, 112 S.Ct. 2929.
• In 2009, Sifton rejected an attempt to overturn the legislation that cleared the way for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and most other city elected officials to seek a third term.

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