Book Talk: Sentencing, Second Chances & Justice, 4/1, with Judge Frederic Block

About the Program and Discussion

Join us for an engaging conversation with U.S. District Court Judge Frederic Block and President and Joseph Crea Dean David D. Meyer, presented in partnership with the Center for Criminal Justice. Block will discuss his latest book, A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It, which offers a rare glimpse behind the bench as he weighs compassionate release cases under the First Step Act.

Through real-life cases, Block explores the complexities of criminal sentencing, the power of second chances, and the broader implications for justice reform. Don’t miss this thought-provoking discussion on law, fairness, and redemption. A reception will follow.

Sponsored by the Center for Criminal Justice.

Program: 6 to 7 p.m. (ET)
A reception to follow: 7 to 8 p.m.

Please RSVP by Thursday, March 27.

About the Author

Hon. Frederic Block was appointed United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York on Sept. 29, 1994. He assumed senior status on Sept. 1, 2005. He received a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in 1956 and an LLB degree from Cornell Law School in 1959.

During his 30 years on the bench, Judge Block has presided over a number of high-profile cases, including the trials of former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin, Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff, Peter Gotti, Lemrick Nelson, and nightclub magnate Peter Gatien. He has sat by designation on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for 17 years. He is the only recipient of the New York Criminal Bar Association’s Honorable Jack B. Weinstein Memorial Award for Judicial Excellence.

Block keeps the left-side of his brain active. He has published several books, including Race to Judgment (SelectBooks, October 2017) and Disrobed: An Inside Look at the Life and Work of a Federal Trial Judge (Thomson Reuters/West Publishing/Westlaw, August 2012). His most recent book, A Second Chance: A Federal Judge Decides Who Deserves It (The New Press, September 2024), is available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble stores. It is all about compassionate release motions that U.S. District Court judges have authority to decide since the First Step Act was signed into law in 2018, and it was recently the subject of Adam Liptak’s Sidebar column in the New York Times. His recent compassionate release decision, U.S. v. Johnson, was featured in the New York Times.

He also coauthored the 1985 off-Broadway musical Professionally Speaking (music and lyrics), and has published articles on a variety of legal topics.

More Information

For general inquiries regarding this event, please contact the Brooklyn Law School Office of Events at events@brooklaw.edu or (718) 780-0321.

Requests for a reasonable accommodation based on a disability to attend this event should be made to the Law School’s reasonable accommodations coordinator: accommodations@brooklaw.edu. Please make your request at least 10 days before the event. We will do our best to address accommodation requests made after the 10 days.