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Lawrence Michael McKenna (November 7, 1933 – February 3, 2023) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Education and career

Lawrence Michael McKenna was born in Manhattan and was raised in Douglaston, Queens. graduated from Regis High School, then received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Fordham College in 1956. He received a Bachelor of Laws from Columbia Law School in 1959. He was in private practice of law in New York City from 1959 to 1990, at the firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett from 1959 to 1969 and at the firm of Wormser, Kiely, Alessandroni, Hyde & McCann from 1969 to 1990.

Federal judicial service

On January 24, 1990, McKenna was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated by Judge William C. Conner. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 27, 1990, and received commission on April 30, 1990. He assumed senior status on May 24, 2002.

In 2001, McKenna struck down two policing policies introduced by Mayor Rudy Giuliani: he ruled that an instance in which the NYPD barred a church from allowing homeless people to sleep there was a violation of the Free Exercise Clause, and stopped the city from requiring a permit for vendors selling art or books in city parks.

Personal life and death

McKenna died under hospice care in Brooklyn on February 3, 2023, at the age of 89.

References

1. Biographical Directory of the Federal Judiciary. Bernan Press. 2001. p. 654. ISBN 9780890592588. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
2. ^ Roberts, Sam (February 16, 2023). "Lawrence M. McKenna, 89, New York Judge in High-Profile Case". The New York Times. p. A24. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
3. "Judge McKenna, H.W. Bush Appointee To SDNY, Dies At 89". Law 360. February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
4. ^ McKenna, Lawrence M. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Sources

• McKenna, Lawrence M. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

• 1933 births
• 2023 deaths
• 20th-century American judges
• 20th-century American lawyers
• 21st-century American judges
• Columbia Law School alumni
• Fordham University alumni
• Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
• Lawyers from New York City
• People from Douglaston–Little Neck, Queens
• Regis High School (New York City) alumni
• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett people
• United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush