{{Short description|American judge (1928–2023)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = H. Lee Sarokin | honorific_suffix = | image = | alt = | caption = | office = Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit]] | term_start = October 5, 1994 | term_end = July 31, 1996 | appointer = [[List of federal judges appointed by Bill Clinton|Bill Clinton]] | predecessor = ''Seat established by 104 Stat. 5089'' | successor = [[Maryanne Trump Barry]] | office1 = Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of New Jersey]] | term_start1 = November 2, 1979 | term_end1 = October 5, 1994 | appointer1 = [[List of federal judges appointed by Jimmy Carter|Jimmy Carter]] | predecessor1 = [[Lawrence Aloysius Whipple]] | successor1 = [[Katharine Sweeney Hayden]] | pronunciation = | birth_name = Haddon Lee Sarokin | birth_date = {{birth date|1928|11|25}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/story/2023-06-23/h-lee-sarokin-federal-judge-dies | title=H. Lee Sarokin, federal judge who opened tobacco records, freed Hurricane Carter, dies at 94 | date=June 23, 2023 }}</ref> | birth_place = {{nowrap|[[Perth Amboy, New Jersey]], U.S.}} | death_date = {{death date and age |2023|6|20|1928|11|25}} | death_place = [[La Jolla, California]], U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | citizenship = | party = | other_party = | height = | spouse = | partner = | relations = | children = | parents = | mother = | father = | relatives = | education = [[Dartmouth College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]])<br>[[Harvard Law School|Harvard University]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]]) | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth = | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = <!--Embedded templates / Footnotes--> | footnotes = }} '''Haddon Lee Sarokin''' (November 25, 1928 – June 20, 2023) was a [[United States federal judge|United States circuit judge]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit]] and a former United States District Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of New Jersey]]. After retiring as a judge, he became a blogger, often writing in support of those he saw as wrongly convicted.
== Early life and career == Sarokin was born in [[Perth Amboy, New Jersey]], and raised in [[Maplewood, New Jersey]]. He was the son of a newspaperman who named him after Haddon Ivins, who had been the editor of the ''[[Hudson Dispatch]]''. "It's a dreadful name, which I dropped," Sarokin told the ''[[New York Times]]'' in 1985.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20B15FC395C0C7A8CDDA80994DD484D81|title=MAN IN THE NEWS; JUDGE WITH ACERBIC PEN; HADDON LEE SAROKIN|first=David|last=Margolick|date=November 9, 1985|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> Sarokin earned an [[Bachelor of Arts|Artium Baccalaureus]] degree from [[Dartmouth College]] in 1950 and a [[Bachelor of Laws]] from [[Harvard Law School]] in 1953.<ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite web|url=https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/sarokin-h.-lee|title=Sarokin, H. Lee – Federal Judicial Center|website=www.fjc.gov}}</ref> Sarokin worked in private practice in [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]], New Jersey from 1955 until 1979. He also concurrently served as an assistant counsel for [[Union County, New Jersey|Union County]], New Jersey, from 1959 until 1965.<ref name=autogenerated3 />
=== Federal judicial service === ==== District court service ==== In 1978, Sarokin worked as the finance chairman for his friend [[Bill Bradley]], who was running for a [[United States Senate]] seat to represent New Jersey. After Bradley won, he recommended Sarokin for a federal judgeship.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> On September 28, 1979, President [[Jimmy Carter]] nominated Sarokin to a seat on the [[United States District Court for the District of New Jersey]] that had been vacated by [[Lawrence Aloysius Whipple]]. The Senate confirmed Sarokin on October 31, 1979. He received his commission on November 2, 1979. His service terminated on October 5, 1994, due to elevation to the Third Circuit.<ref name=autogenerated3 />
In 1985, Sarokin overturned the 1966 triple murder conviction of former middleweight boxer [[Rubin Carter]] resulting in Carter's release and a granting of a writ of ''[[habeas corpus]]'' to the former middleweight boxer. Sarokin had ruled that Carter had not received a fair trial as the prosecution had been based on 'racism rather than reason' and 'concealment rather than disclosure'.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/classic/biography/s/Carter_Hurricane.html|title=ESPN Classic – Hurricane found peace at storm's center|website=ESPN}}</ref> The case was ultimately appealed to the Supreme Court which declined to hear it and upheld Sarokin's ruling.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}
In 1988, Sarokin presided over a landmark cigarette liability lawsuit that resulted in a $400,000 award to the estate of Rose Cipollone, who died in 1984 after smoking for 40 years. It was the first cash award ever in a case involving a death from smoking.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/settlement/timelines/cipollone.html|title=Timelines – Rose Cipollone And Judge Lee Sarokin – Inside The Tobacco Deal – FRONTLINE – PBS|website=www.pbs.org}}</ref> The decision was reversed on appeal and Sarokin removed from the case by the appellate court who concluded that "his words suggested a bias against tobacco makers", which Sarokin denied.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/12/nyregion/judge-leaves-tobacco-trial-after-rebuke.html#:~:text=Judge%20H.%20Lee%20Sarokin%20of%20Federal%20District%20Court,lung%20cancer%20won%20damages%20from%20the%20tobacco%20industry. "Judge Leaves Tobacco Trial After Rebuke"], Evelyn Nieves, ''[[The New York Times]]'', September 12, 1992</ref> In 1991, Sarokin ruled that a homeless man could not be barred from a public library in [[Morristown, New Jersey|Morristown]], New Jersey just because of his odor.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html|title=Federal Judge to Resign, Citing Political Attacks|first=Neil|last=Macfarquhar|date=June 5, 1996|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2008/10/28/obama_and_the_law|title=Thomas Sowell – Obama and the Law|first=Thomas|last=Sowell|date=October 28, 2008 }}</ref> The decision was overturned on appeal.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/25/nyregion/library-wins-in-homeless-man-case.html "Library Wins in Homeless-Man Case" by Robert Hanley], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 25, 1992</ref>
==== Court of appeals service ==== On May 5, 1994, President [[Bill Clinton]] nominated Sarokin to a newly created seat on the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit]]. On October 4, 1994, the Senate voted 63–35 to confirm Sarokin to the seat on the Third Circuit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=2&vote=00319|title=U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 103rd Congress – 2nd Session|website=www.senate.gov}}</ref> He received his commission on October 5, 1994. In early 1996, Sarokin sought to assume [[senior status]], which means a reduced caseload. As part of shifting to senior status, Sarokin asked to move his chambers from New Jersey to California to be closer to his children. On April 24, 1996, an 11-member council of the Third Circuit denied Sarokin's request, citing federal guidelines relating to judicial office space.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E6DF1639F936A15757C0A960958260 Judge Barred From Moving His Chambers To California], ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref>
In a speech in April 1996, presidential candidate [[Bob Dole]] cited Sarokin as one of four federal appellate and district judges that Clinton had appointed to the federal courts that Dole had deemed to be liberal activist judges. The others were [[Harold Baer Jr.]], [[Rosemary Barkett]], and [[Leonie Brinkema]].<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9505E1D71E39F933A15757C0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Dole, Citing 'Crisis' in the Courts, Attacks Appointments by Clinton], ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref> On June 5, 1996, Sarokin announced that he would retire outright from the Third Circuit, effective July 31, 1996.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> Sarokin cited his fear that his opinions from the bench might be used politically. "It is apparent that there are those who have decided to 'Willie Hortonize' the Federal judiciary, and that I am to be one of their prime targets," he wrote in a letter to President Clinton. "In the current political campaign, enforcement of constitutional rights is equated with being soft on crime and indeed, even causing it."<ref name="autogenerated1"/> In a separate letter to colleagues, Sarokin denied that his decision to retire had had anything to do with the court's decision not to allow him to move his chambers to California.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
== Retirement and death == Just a few weeks before retiring from the bench, Sarokin purchased a house in [[Rancho Santa Fe, California]], where he had chosen to live in retirement.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html|title=National Healing: Is It Too Soon?|date=October 6, 1998|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>
In retirement, Sarokin began to blog, serving as a regular contributor for the ''Huffington Post'', opining on a myriad of issues and continuing to serve as an advocate for those he saw as wrongly convicted.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/judge-h-lee-sarokin|title=Judge H. Lee Sarokin {{!}} HuffPost|website=www.huffingtonpost.com|language=en|access-date=February 23, 2018}}</ref> Most prominently, he wrote a five-part series on the IRP6<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freetheirp6.org/|title=Free The IRP6|website=Free The IRP6|language=en|access-date=February 23, 2018}}</ref> and several follow up articles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-h-lee-sarokin/the-case-of-the-missing-t_3_b_5651489.html|title=The Case of the Missing Transcript Faces Another Defeat (Part V)|last=Sarokin|first=Judge H. Lee|date=August 6, 2014|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=February 23, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-h-lee-sarokin/the-case-of-the-missing-t_2_b_5619097.html|title=The Case of the Missing Transcript Becomes Stranger Yet (Part IV)|last=Sarokin|first=Judge H. Lee|date=July 25, 2014|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=February 23, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-h-lee-sarokin/the-case-of-the-missing-t_1_b_5340397.html|title=The Case of The Missing Transcript Solved – Part III|last=Sarokin|first=Judge H. Lee|date=May 17, 2014|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=February 23, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-h-lee-sarokin/the-missing-transcript-ca_b_5334328.html|title=The Missing Transcript Case Becomes More Curious – Part II|last=Sarokin|first=Judge H. Lee|date=May 16, 2014|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=February 23, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-h-lee-sarokin/the-case-of-the-missing-transcipt_b_5267338.html|title=The Case of the Missing Transcipt|last=Sarokin|first=Judge H. Lee|date=May 5, 2014|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=February 23, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-h-lee-sarokin/a-company-small-enough-to_b_11072152.html|title=A Company Small Enough To Prosecute|last=Sarokin|first=Judge H. Lee|date=July 21, 2016|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=February 23, 2018}}</ref> Sarokin then made a case for IRP6's innocence in a July 2017 blog post, ''A Company Small Enough To Prosecute''<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judge-h-lee-sarokin/a-company-small-enough-to_b_11072152.html | title=A Company Small Enough to Prosecute | website=[[HuffPost]] | date=July 21, 2016 }}</ref> at ''The Huffington Post''. His advocacy was heralded in a July 2016<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Jackman |first=Tom |date=2021-10-28 |title=Judge who freed 'Hurricane' Carter now helping six imprisoned men, but only Obama can save them |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2016/07/05/judge-who-freed-hurricane-carter-now-helping-six-imprisoned-men-but-only-obama-can-save-them/ |access-date=2023-07-12 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> article online at ''The Washington Post'' entitled, ''Judge who Freed ‘Hurricane’ Carter Now Helping Six Imprisoned Men, but Only Obama Can Save Them'',<ref name=":0" /> where author, Tom Jackman, details the meticulous investigation and ground breaking conclusions of Judge Sarokin, who became convinced of the innocence of the IRP6.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2016/07/05/judge-who-freed-hurricane-carter-now-helping-six-imprisoned-men-but-only-obama-can-save-them/|title=Judge who freed 'Hurricane' Carter now helping six imprisoned men, but only Obama can save them|last=Jackman|first=Tom|date=July 5, 2016|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=February 23, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Judge Sarokin didn't stop at proclamations, he wrote a series on the ''Huffington Post Crime Blog'' about the IRP6 case, authored a play, called ''The Race Card Face Up'',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y94O5mMJqHU | title=The Race Card Face up | website=[[YouTube]] }}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=aaronrumley1|title=The Race Card Face Up|date=May 18, 2016|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y94O5mMJqHU|access-date=February 23, 2018}}</ref> and ultimately a letter on behalf of the IRP6 to President Obama pushing for their clemency, something Sarokin stated he had never done in sixty years as a lawyer or judge.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}} Sarokin died in [[La Jolla]] on June 20, 2023, at the age of 94, after suffering from [[pulmonary fibrosis]] and other ailments.<ref>{{cite web |title=H. Lee Sarokin, judge who freed 'Hurricane' Carter, dies at 94 |url=https://apnews.com/article/h-lee-sarokin-died-2acd98d7cf42091bd32e65dad22625e8 |website=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=June 23, 2023}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{FJC Bio|nid=1387386}} * {{Internet Archive film clip|id=openmind_ep1240|description="The Open Mind – A Judge Speaks Out, Part I (September 27, 2007)"}} * {{Internet Archive film clip|id=openmind_ep1241|description="The Open Mind – A Judge Speaks Out, Part II (September 27, 2007)"}}
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=[[Lawrence Aloysius Whipple]]}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of New Jersey]]}}|years=1979–1994}} {{s-aft|after=[[Katharine Sweeney Hayden]]}} {{s-bef|before=Seat established by 104 Stat. 5089}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit]]}}|years=1994–1996}} {{s-aft|after=[[Maryanne Trump Barry]]}} {{s-end}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarokin, H. Lee}} [[Category:1928 births]] [[Category:2023 deaths]] [[Category:Lawyers from Newark, New Jersey]] [[Category:Dartmouth College alumni]] [[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]] [[Category:Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit]] [[Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey]] [[Category:People from Perth Amboy, New Jersey]] [[Category:People from Rancho Santa Fe, California]] [[Category:United States court of appeals judges appointed by Bill Clinton]] [[Category:United States district court judges appointed by Jimmy Carter]] [[Category:Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis]]