Rosemary S. Pooler

Rosemary S. Pooler (born June 21, 1938) is a U.S. federal judge in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Rosemary Pooler was born in New York City. She earned a B.A. from Brooklyn College in 1959, an M.A. from the University of Connecticut, and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

Following graduation from law school, Pooler entered private law practice in Syracuse, New York. In 1972, she was appointed as Director of the Consumer Affairs Unit in the Syracuse Corporation Counsel's Office, serving in that post for a year. From 1974 to 1975, she served on the Syracuse City Council. In 1975, she was appointed as Chairman of the New York State Consumer Protection Board, serving until 1980. The following year, she was appointed to the state Public Service Commission. In 1987, she served as a committee staff member for the New York State Assembly. Following a stint on the law faculty at Syracuse University College of Law, she served as Vice President of Legal Affairs at the Atlantic States Legal Foundation from 1989 to 1990.

In 1986, Rosemary Pooler decided to run for the United States House of Representatives. She challenged conservative Republican incumbent George C. Wortley, who was seeking a fourth term. She campaigned aggressively and came within less than 1,000 votes of winning. In 1988, Wortley decided not to seek reelection. Pooler was considered a leading prospect of a Democratic gain. But her Republican opponent that year, Syracuse City Councilman James T. Walsh, was a much more difficult target for her attacks. A pro-labor former Peace Corps volunteer from a well-known political family (his father had been a popular Mayor), he was difficult for Pooler to portray as a right-winger, and her efforts to do so fell flat. Walsh won handily, with Pooler winning only 42% of the vote.

In 1990, she was elected as a Justice for the Fifth Judicial District of the Supreme Court of New York. Four years later, she was appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton, serving from 1994 to 1998, as federal district judge in the Northern District of New York. She received her current appointment as a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1998.