Newsbriefs

Bernard L. Madoff will not appeal the 150-year prison sentence imposed for his multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. Mr. Madoff’s lawyer, Ira Lee Sorkin of Dickstein Shapiro, said yesterday there would be no appeal of the sentence imposed late last month by Southern District Judge Denny Chin (NYLJ, June 30). Mr. Sorkin had asked Judge Chin to sentence his client to 12 years in prison, and, in the alternative, order him to serve a 15-to-20-year term. But Southern District Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc O. Litt and Lisa A. Baroni persuaded the judge to give Mr. Madoff the maximum possible sentence—one Mr. Sorkin and Mr. Madoff ultimately decided was not worth appealing. “I can’t go into it but it’s a decision we made after a lot of thought,” Mr. Sorkin said yesterday. - Mark Hamblett

Family Court Supervising Judges Named in City

New Family Court supervising judges have been appointed in three New York City boroughs. Judge Monica Drinane in the Bronx (See Profile), Judge Douglas Hoffman in Manhattan (See Profile) and Judge Carol Stokinger in Queens (See Profile) have been named as supervising judges, Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau announced Wednesday. Judge Stokinger replaces Judge Edwina Richardson-Mendelson (See Profile), who was appointed administrative judge of the New York City Family Court in May (NYLJ, May 11). Judge Hoffman succeeds Judge Jane Pearl (See Profile), who had been the supervising judge in Manhattan since 2008. And Judge Drinane will take the baton from Judge Clark V. Richardson (See Profile), who has been the supervising judge in the Bronx since 2000. Judge Richardson-Mendelson said her appointment and the latest round of supervisory appointments reflect Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman’s desire to bring in “a new administration that can make a fresh start” in Family Court. Judge Drinane came to Family Court in 2004 from a career in the Legal Aid Society’s juvenile rights division, which she headed from 1998 to 2004. Judge Hoffman has been sitting in Family Court since 2003 after serving seven years in Civil Court. Judge Stokinger was appointed to Family Court in 2000 after a 23-year career in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where she was chief of the family violence and child abuse bureau. Supervising judges are paid the same salary as other Family Court judges, $136,700. - Daniel Wise

Trial of Astor’s Son Resumes