U.S. Judge Denise Cote of New York City; ethical loser

The state of New York presented Denis Cote with a law license in 1975 after she graduated from Columbia University Law School in Detroit.

In 1994, President Clinton was duped into appointing Denise as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan. Denise didn’t get the appointment because she was the most qualified attorney in the New York City area; she got it because she had proven to be a reliable lackey for the local political hacks.

Denise was assigned to preside over a case involving Apple Computer. In that case, she appointed attorney Michael Bromwich of the Goodwin Proctor law firm to act as a monitor in the case.

Apple complained to Denise that Bromwich and Goodwin Proctor were overcharging for their so-called monitoring services, which they were billing at $1,100 an hour.

Unbelievably, Denise ruled that $1,100 an hour was a reasonable fee. In fact, she did so without ever requiring Goodwin Proctor to justify their outrageous hourly fee or to provide irrefutable proof that they actually performed the services they billed Apple for

As is the case with most greedy federal judges, Denise chose to go on Senior Status in 2011. This means she only has to work 10 hours a week to collect her $199,000 annual salary.

Denise could have permanently retired in 2011 at age 65 and received a lifetime pension of $174,000. However, if she did, she would not have been eligible for the $25,000 salary increase in 2014.

As we speak (ca. April 2014), Denise continues to sit as a U.S. District Court judge in New York City.