Joseph F. Bianco
Joseph Frank Bianco is an American judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a position he has held since May 13, 2019. Prior to that, he was a United States district judge for the Eastern District of New York from 2006 to 2019.
Bianco was born on September 11, 1966, in Queens, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University in 1988, magna cum laude, and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 1991, where he was an editor of the Columbia Law Review. He later earned a Master of Arts from the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in 2013 and is an ordained Roman Catholic deacon.
His early career included a federal clerkship for Judge Peter K. Leisure in the Southern District of New York (1992–1993), a stint in private practice at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and service as an assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1994 to 2003. He then worked as counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton (2003–2004) and later served as senior counsel and deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. Bianco has also taught law as an adjunct professor at several institutions, including Fordham University School of Law (2002–2004), Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law (2009–2013), Touro Law Center (2007–2014), and St. John’s University School of Law (2006). He has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2004.
Nominated to the district court by President George W. Bush on July 28, 2005, Bianco filled a seat vacated by Denis Reagan Hurley. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on December 21, 2005, and received his commission on January 3, 2006. As a district judge, he handled various cases, including murder prosecutions involving MS-13.
On October 10, 2018, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Bianco to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to fill the seat left by Judge Reena Raggi. The American Bar Association rated him Well Qualified. His nomination was sent to the Senate on November 13, 2018. After a Senate hearing on February 13, 2019, and a committee vote on March 7, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on May 6, 2019 and confirmed Bianco on May 8, 2019. He received his judicial commission on May 13, 2019.
Bianco is married and has six children.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:37 (CET).