Eric Schneiderman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eric Schneiderman
Schneiderman in 2012
65th Attorney General of New York
In office January 1, 2011 – May 8, 2018
Governor	Andrew Cuomo
Preceded by	Andrew Cuomo
Succeeded by	Barbara Underwood
Member of the New York State Senate
In office January 1, 1999 – December 31, 2010
Preceded by	Franz Leichter
Succeeded by	Adriano Espaillat
Constituency	30th district (1999–2002) 31st district (2003–2010)
Personal details
Born	Eric Tradd Schneiderman (1954-12-31) December 31, 1954 (age 69) New York City, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Jennifer Cunningham (divorced)
Children	1
Education	Amherst College (BA) Harvard University (JD)

Eric Tradd Schneiderman (born December 31, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 65th Attorney General of New York from 2011 until his resignation in May 2018. Schneiderman, a member of the Democratic Party, spent ten years in the New York State Senate before being elected Attorney General. In May 2018, Schneiderman resigned from his position as Attorney General after The New Yorker reported that four women had accused him of physical abuse. In 2021, Schneiderman’s law license was suspended for a year after a disciplinary proceeding where he admitted to the abusive conduct.

Life and early career

Schneiderman was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the son of Abigail Heyward and Irwin Schneiderman, a lawyer. He graduated from the Trinity School in New York City in 1972 and Amherst College in 1977. He earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1982.

Schneiderman served as a judicial clerk for two years within the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and subsequently joined the international law firm Kirkpatrick and Lockhart LLP (now known as K&L Gates), where he became a partner. Schneiderman married Jennifer Cunningham in 1990. They later divorced in 1996. They have a daughter, Catherine, who is married to Matthew Newton.

New York Senate

Schneiderman was elected to represent the 31st district in the New York State Senate. At the time, this district comprised Manhattan's Upper West Side, as well as Morningside Heights, West Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill, in addition to part of Riverdale in the Bronx.

Elections

In the 1998 Democratic primary, Schneiderman, defeated Daniel O'Donnell, a civil rights attorney, with 68% of the vote. In the general election, he defeated Vincent McGowen with 82% of the vote. He won re-election in 2000 (84%), in 2002 (87%), 2004 (89%), 2006 (92%), and 2008 (90%).

Tenure

Schneiderman was the chief sponsor of the Rockefeller Drug Law reforms, which were passed and signed into law in 2009 by Governor David Paterson. The reforms included reducing reliance on long, mandatory minimum sentences, and allocating funds for alternatives to incarceration, focusing on treatment and reentry of prisoners into society. His other legislative activities include passing ethics reforms to root out fraud against taxpayers.

Attorney General

Elections

Then Attorney General Andrew Cuomo endorsing Schneiderman during the 2010 election.

Schneiderman was the Democratic Party nominee for New York Attorney General. He denied being involved in a hit-and-run automobile accident in July 2010. He defeated Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice and three other candidates in the Democratic primary on September 14, 2010. Schneiderman defeated Republican nominee and Richmond County District Attorney Dan Donovan in the general election and took office on January 1, 2011.

Schneiderman won re-election in 2014. His major opponent was Republican John P. Cahill, who had been an environmental conservation commissioner for the state.

Tenure

Schneiderman was instrumental in pushing for a tougher fraud settlement with large banks over illegal foreclosure practices. Along with California Attorney General Kamala Harris, Schneiderman pushed to prevent the settlement from including immunity for the banks from further investigation and prosecution of other related illegal activities.

In 2011, Melissa DeRosa, who was later the Secretary to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, became deputy chief of staff and acting chief of staff for Schneiderman.

In August 2013, Schneiderman filed a $40 million civil lawsuit against Donald Trump for his "Trump University" (now known as Trump Entrepreneur Initiative), alleging it to be an "unlicensed university" and calling it a "bait-and-switch scheme". Trump denied all accusations, calling Schneiderman a "political hack". In October 2014, a New York judge found Trump personally liable for the institution's not having the required license.

In September 2013, Schneiderman announced a settlement with 19 companies to prevent astroturfing; i.e., buying fake online praise. "'Astroturfing' is the 21st century's version of false advertising, and prosecutors have many tools at their disposal to put an end to it," according to Schneiderman. The companies paid $350,000 to settle the matter, but the settlement opened the way for private suits as well. "Every state has some version of the statutes New York used," according to lawyer Kelly H. Kolb. "What the New York attorney general has done is, perhaps, to have given private lawyers a road map to file suit."

Schneiderman and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. were sued in 2015 in a constitutional challenge to New York's 1997 ban on mixed martial arts. The following year, the New York State Legislature legalized MMA in the state.

In November 2015, Schneiderman issued cease-and-desist letters to daily fantasy sports companies DraftKings and FanDuel, accusing the companies of operating a gambling enterprise that is illegal under New York law. This sparked a six-month-long legal battle. Schneiderman reached a settlement with the companies in March 2016, under which DraftKings and FanDuel agreed to stop operating in New York until September 2016 and Schneiderman agreed to drop all of the state's suits against DraftKings and FanDuel—except for a false advertising claim against FanDuel—if the New York State Legislature passed legislation legalizing daily fantasy sports by the adjournment of the session.

In 2017, during President Donald Trump's first year in office, the Trump administration sought to scrap numerous Obama-era environmental regulations that Trump viewed as an impediment to business. Schneiderman filed over 50 lawsuits opposing Trump's environmental actions.

..... The lawsuit delayed the sale of The Weinstein Company with the Attorney General adding, "Any sale of the Weinstein Company must ensure that victims will be compensated."

Electoral history

*McGowan was also listed on the Liberal Party line; Brance was also listed on the Right to Life Party line.

*Schneiderman was also listed on the Working Families Party line; Madon was also listed on the Independence Party line.

*Schneiderman was also listed on the Working Families Party line.

*Schneiderman was also listed on the Working Families Party line.

*Schneiderman was also listed on the Working Families Party line.

*Schneiderman was also listed on the Working Families Party line.

*Schneiderman was also listed on the Independence Party and Working Families Party line; Donovan was also listed on the Conservative Party line.

*Schneiderman was also listed on the Independence Party, Working Families Party, and Women's Equality Party lines; Cahill was also listed on the Conservative Party and Stop Common Core Party lines.

See also

• List of Jewish American jurists