Charles Proctor Sifton (March 18, 1935 – November 9, 2009) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York from 1977 to 2009 and its Chief Judge from 1995 to 2000.

Education and career

Born in New York City, New York, Sifton received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College in 1957 and a Bachelor of Laws from Columbia Law School in 1961. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Göttingen in Göttingen, Germany from 1957 to 1958. Sifton worked as an attorney in private practice in New York City from 1961 to 1962 and as staff counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 1962 to 1964. He returned to private practice from 1964 to 1966, and again from 1969 to 1977. From 1966 to 1969, Sifton served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Federal judicial service

On August 16, 1977, President Jimmy Carter nominated Sifton to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York that had been vacated by Judge John Francis Dooling Jr. Sifton was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 12, 1977 and received his commission the same day. He served as Chief Judge from 1995 to 2000, assuming senior status on March 18, 2000, and served in that status until his death from sarcoidosis on the morning of November 9, 2009.

Notable cases

During his more than 30 years on the bench, he issued thousands of decisions in both civil and criminal cases. A few of his most publicized cases are listed below:

Personal

Sifton's first marriage was to Elisabeth Sifton, a prominent book editor and author who is the daughter of theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. He was survived by his wife, the artist Susan Rowland, children: Sam Sifton, the food editor of The New York Times and two other sons, Toby and John; and four grandchildren.

Sources