Joseph F. Bianco


Joseph Frank Bianco is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He was formerly a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Education and legal career

Bianco was born in Flushing, New York. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University in 1988, and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 1991. He was a law clerk to Judge Peter K. Leisure of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York from 1992 to 1993. He then became an associate at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, where he worked for one year.
From 1994 to 2003, Bianco served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. From 2003–2004, he was counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton. Before becoming a judge, Bianco was senior counsel and a Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division.
Bianco taught as an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law from 2002 to 2004. From 2009 to 2013, he was an adjunct at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law. He was an adjunct professor of law at Touro Law Center from 2007–2014. He has taught as an adjunct at the St. John's University School of Law since 2006. He has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2004.
He earned a Master of Arts from the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in 2013, and is an ordained Roman Catholic deacon.

Federal judicial service

District Court service

Bianco is a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Bianco was nominated by President George W. Bush on July 28, 2005, to a seat vacated by Denis Reagan Hurley. He was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate on December 21, 2005 and received his commission on January 3, 2006. As a district court judge, Bianco oversaw a number of murder cases against MS-13 gang members. His service on the district court terminated upon his elevation to the Court of Appeals on May 17, 2019.

Court of Appeals service

On October 10, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Bianco to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. On November 13, 2018, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Bianco to the seat vacated by Judge Reena Raggi, who took senior status on August 31, 2018. Also on November 13, 2018, the American Bar Association unanimously rated Bianco as "Well Qualified," its highest rating.
On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Bianco to a federal judgeship. His nomination was sent to the Senate later that day. On February 13, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On March 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a party line 12–10 vote. On May 6, 2019, the U.S. Senate voted to invoke cloture by a vote of 51-40. On May 8, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by the Senate in a 54–42 vote. He received his judicial commission on May 13, 2019.

Personal life

Bianco is married and has six children.