Louis J. Freeh
Appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 and confirmed by voice vote, Louis J. Freeh was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He earned a law degree from Rutgers School of Law -- Newark in 1974. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Born
- 1950 · age 76
- Appointed by
- George H.W. Bush, 1991
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- Rutgers 1971 · Rutgers Law -- Newark 1974
- Succeeded
- Richard Joseph Daronco
- Succeeded by
- Shira A. Scheindlin
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Southern District of New York succeeded Richard Joseph Daronco | G.H.W. Bush (R) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| Rutgers University | B.A. | 1971 |
| Rutgers School of Law -- Newark | J.D. | 1974 |
| New York University School of Law | LL.M. | 1984 |
Before the bench
Professional career before and outside the federal bench, as recorded by the Federal Judicial Center.
| U.S. Army Reserve lieutenant, JAG Corps | 1985- |
| Law clerk, U.S. Sen. Clifford P. Case of New Jersey, Newark district office | 1974-1975 |
| Private practice, New Jersey | 1974-1975 |
| Special agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York City | 1975-1980 |
| Supervisory special agent, Organized Crime Section, Federal Bureau of Investigation | 1980-1981 |
| Assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of New York, 1981-1990; chief, Organized Crime Unit, 1987-1989; deputy U.S. attorney, 1989; associate U.S. attorney | 1989-1990 |
| Special prosecutor, U.S. Department of Justice | 1990-1991 |
| Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation | 1993-2001 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Freeh was assigned 604 district-court cases (1987–1993). Median time from filing to termination: 218 days across 604 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
In our data, Freeh authored 28 published opinions for the court (1991–1993). Most cited: Munoz v. Keane (36 citations).
A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Recent & notable rulings
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Munoz v. Keane | 777 F. Supp. 282 | 36 |
| 1992 | Ackerman v. National Property Analysts, Inc. | 887 F. Supp. 494 | 23 |
| 1992 | Kelber v. Forest Electric Corp. | 799 F. Supp. 326 | 20 |
| 1992 | Suttell v. Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co. | 793 F. Supp. 70 | 18 |
| 1993 | DuFort v. Aetna Life Insurance | 818 F. Supp. 578 | 17 |
| 1993 | Travelers Insurance v. Cuomo | 813 F. Supp. 996 | 16 |
| 1991 | Severino v. Thornburgh | 778 F. Supp. 5 | 12 |
| 1992 | Purgess v. Sharrock | 806 F. Supp. 1102 | 11 |
| 1992 | Towers Financial Corp. v. Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. | 803 F. Supp. 820 | 10 |
| 1993 | Ackerman v. National Property Analysts, Inc. | 887 F. Supp. 510 | 9 |
| 1991 | Rio Energy International, Inc. v. Hilton Oil Transport | 776 F. Supp. 120 | 9 |
| 1992 | Minority Equity Capital Co., Inc. v. Jackson | 798 F. Supp. 200 | 7 |
| 1992 | Wachovia Bank of Georgia, N.A. v. Apex Tech of Georgia, Inc. | 144 B.R. 649 | 7 |
| 1993 | Shaw, Licitra, Parente, Esernio & Schwartz, P.C. v. Travelers Indemnity Co. (In Re Grant Associates) | 154 B.R. 836 | 5 |
| 1991 | Ginsburg v. Faragalli | 776 F. Supp. 806 | 5 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 28 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Louis J. Freeh?
- President George H.W. Bush appointed Louis J. Freeh to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1991.
- Was Louis J. Freeh appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Louis J. Freeh was appointed by President George H.W. Bush, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Louis J. Freeh's confirmation vote?
- Louis J. Freeh was confirmed by voice vote on May 24, 1991. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Louis J. Freeh on?
- Louis J. Freeh was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- Portrait: FBI (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
2 years on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Data as of 2026-09-28. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).