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      The Vilcek Foundation raises awareness of immigrant contributions in the United States and fosters appreciation of the arts and sciences.

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Home > Prizes > Prize Recipients > Robert A. Katzmann

Robert A. Katzmann

2020 Vilcek Prize for Excellence in Administration of Justice

Location

New York, NY

Title

Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Area(s) of Research

Public service; broadening access to legal representation for immigrants in need

Education

Columbia College (AB); Harvard University (AM and PhD, government); Yale Law School (JD)

Country of Birth

United States

Tags
immigration justice legal representation public service
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Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann appears in New York City's Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse.

Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann of the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit is an esteemed and brilliant jurist, a prolific and accomplished scholar, a devoted mentor and teacher, a person courteous to all those he encounters, and in the field of immigration law, a national treasure.

Judge Katzmann was raised by his father, a refugee from Nazi Germany, and his mother, the daughter of Russian immigrants. In the words of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, his parents instilled in him and his siblings the “centrality of treating people with dignity and kindness.”

He was appointed to the federal bench by President Clinton in 1999, and the contemporary plight of immigrants soon came into sharper focus. In his now-seminal Marden Lecture in 2007, he called upon the New York City Bar to increase the delivery of quality legal services, at no cost to the immigrants, to those at risk of deportation.

Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in New York City

Judge Katzmann formed a study group on immigrant representation, which led to two innovations that have reshaped the national landscape of immigrant representation: the first being the Immigrant Justice Corps, the nation’s first fellowship program focused on recruiting, training, and populating the immigration field with the highest quality college and law school graduates. As of November 2019, it has served more than 60,000 immigrants, winning 93% of the cases it has handled. The second, the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP), the nation’s first public defender system for immigrants facing deportation and has served thousands, improving people’s chances of remaining lawfully in the United States by a staggering 1,100%.

Judge Katzmann’s unique combination of tenacity and insight, visionary leadership and gentle mentorship of new leaders, and sheer generosity of his time underscores his steadfast belief that we can and must continually strive for the betterment of our nation and the just administration of our laws.

Law publications by Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann sitting on a light-filled desk in a law library.

 

Awards and Accomplishments

  • Learned Hand Medal of the Federal Bar Council
  • Edward Weinfeld Award of the New York County Lawyers Association
  • Fuld Award of the New York State Bar Association
  • Green Bag award for legal writing
  • Charles E. Merriam Award of the American Political Science Association
  • Thurgood Marshall Award of the American Bar Association
  • Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • New York Law School honorary degree
  • John Jay College honorary degree
  • Pace University honorary degree

 

In accepting the Vilcek Prize for Excellence, Judge Katzmann declined the cash prize. The Vilcek Foundation will honor Judge Katzmann’s request to donate the prize money to a not-for-profit organization that provides direct services to immigrants in need in the United States.

Related Prize Recipients

2021 Vilcek Prize for Excellence in Public Service

Andrew Yang

Born in the United States
Andrew Yang receives the Vilcek Prize for Excellence in Public Service in recognition of his leadership in advancing ideas addressing issues ranging from wealth inequality, to understanding how corporations use individuals’ personal data, to autism and American families.
Portrait of Andrew Yang
2020 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Literature

Valeria Luiselli

Born in Mexico
Valeria Luiselli receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Literature for intelligent, distinctive fiction and nonfiction that interrogates the United States’ immigration system, and bears witness to those left voiceless by mass deportation.
Portrait of Valeria Luiselli
2019 Vilcek Prize for Excellence in Art History

Carmen C. Bambach

Born in Chile
Carmen C. Bambach receives the Vilcek Prize for Excellence in Art History for revelatory contributions to the study of Renaissance drawings, and for curating landmark exhibitions that made masterpieces available to new audiences.
Portrait of Carmen C. Bambach

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February 13, 2020

Robert A. Katzmann: Making Justice Accessible to All

The Hon. Robert A. Katzmann, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, is a first-generation American on his father’s side and a second-generation American on his mother’s. In the course of his judicial service he has been committed to advancing access to justice for immigrants.
Hon. Robert A. Katzmann, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
September 7, 2020

Announcing the 2021 Vilcek Foundation Prizewinners

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February 1, 2020

Vilcek Foundation Honors Immigrants and Advocates with Prizes Totaling $600,000

Nine prizes totaling $600,000 are being awarded to immigrant scientists and writers, including Harvard’s Xiaowei Zhuang and author Edwidge Danticat; Prize for Excellence awarded to the Honorable Robert A. Katzmann.
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