NEW YORK TIMES: Jed S. Rakoff is a maverick jurist who picked a three-year fight to make the Securities and Exchange Commission tougher on a Wall Street bank.
While Judge Rakoff of Federal District Court in Manhattan lost that fight on Wednesday, he had already secured a victory of sorts, having set in motion a series of events that swayed public opinion and influenced the S.E.C.’s broader enforcement agenda.
A federal appeals court on Wednesday overturned Judge Rakoff’s decision in 2011 to reject an S.E.C. settlement deal with Citigroup, undercutting the judge’s concerns that the bank got off with little more than a slap on the wrist. In a long-awaited opinion, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded that Judge Rakoff “abused” his discretion “by applying an incorrect legal standard” to the case. The court sent the case back to Judge Rakoff, who is expected to eventually approve the deal… (more)
EDITOR: Sometimes you take on a losing battle but, by protesting. you eventually win the war.
