Frank X. Altimari

Frank Xavier Altimari was a United States circuit judge who served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1985 until his death in 1998. Born in Queens, New York, in 1928, he built a distinguished legal career that spanned private practice, legal education, state judicial service, and ultimately the federal bench. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, Altimari served more than a decade as a federal appellate judge before assuming senior status in 1996. His judicial career, which began at the local level in Nassau County and culminated in service on one of the nation's most influential federal appellate courts, reflected a progression through multiple levels of the American judicial system.

Early life and legal career

Frank Xavier Altimari was born on September 4, 1928, in Queens, New York. He pursued his undergraduate education at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, an institution with which he would maintain a long professional relationship. Following his undergraduate studies, Altimari attended Brooklyn Law School, where he earned his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1951, completing his formal legal education in the New York metropolitan area where he had been raised.

Upon receiving his law degree, Altimari entered private practice as an attorney in Jamaica, New York, where he practiced for fourteen years from 1951 to 1965. During this extended period in private practice, he developed expertise in legal matters while simultaneously pursuing other professional activities. Notably, he combined his legal practice with academic work, serving as a law professor at St. Francis College, his undergraduate alma mater, from 1954 to 1963. This nine-year teaching tenure demonstrated his commitment to legal education and his ability to balance multiple professional responsibilities.

Beyond his legal and academic work, Altimari also engaged in public service at the local level. From 1963 to 1965, he served on the school board in Westbury, New York, contributing to educational governance in the Long Island community. This involvement in local civic affairs provided him with experience in public administration and community leadership that would complement his legal background as he transitioned to judicial service.

Federal appellate service

Altimari's path to the federal appellate bench began with service in the New York state court system. In 1965, he was elected to the Nassau County District Court, marking the beginning of his judicial career. After four years on the district court, he was elected to the Nassau County Court in 1970. He continued his ascent through the state judiciary when he became a justice of the New York State Supreme Court, the trial court of general jurisdiction in New York, serving from 1974 to 1982. During this period of state judicial service, he also returned briefly to teaching, serving again as a faculty member at St. Francis College from 1972 to 1973.

Altimari's federal judicial career commenced when President Ronald Reagan nominated him to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He was nominated on November 23, 1982, to fill a seat that had been vacated by Judge Edward Raymond Neaher. The Senate confirmed his nomination on December 10, 1982, and he received his commission the same day, beginning his service as a federal district judge. His tenure on the district court was relatively brief, lasting just over three years, as he was elevated to the appellate bench in late 1985.

The elevation came when President Reagan nominated Altimari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on October 23, 1985. He was nominated to fill the seat vacated by Judge Ellsworth Van Graafeiland. The Senate confirmed the nomination on December 16, 1985, and Altimari received his commission the following day, December 17, 1985. His service on the district court formally terminated on December 23, 1985, as he assumed his new responsibilities on the Second Circuit.

The Second Circuit, which hears appeals from federal district courts in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont, is widely regarded as one of the most important federal appellate courts in the nation, particularly for matters involving commercial law, securities regulation, and other areas of federal jurisdiction concentrated in New York City. Altimari served as an active circuit judge for more than a decade, participating in the court's work of reviewing district court decisions and establishing precedent for the circuit.

On January 1, 1996, Altimari assumed senior status, a form of semi-retirement available to federal judges who meet certain age and service requirements. Senior status allowed him to continue hearing cases on a reduced schedule while creating a vacancy for a new active judge to be appointed. He continued to serve in senior status until his death on July 19, 1998, in Old Westbury, New York, from brain cancer. His federal appellate service thus spanned nearly thirteen years, with approximately ten years in active service and two and a half years in senior status.

Jurisprudence and legacy

Frank Altimari's career reflected a trajectory common among federal judges of his generation, progressing from private practice through state courts before reaching the federal bench. His experience across multiple levels of the judiciary—from local county courts through state trial courts to federal district and appellate courts—provided him with a comprehensive understanding of the American judicial system. The combination of trial court experience at both the state and federal levels gave him practical grounding in courtroom procedure and fact-finding before he assumed the appellate role of reviewing lower court decisions for legal error.

His service on the Second Circuit placed him on a court with significant influence over federal law, particularly in areas where the circuit's jurisdiction encompasses major commercial and financial centers. The Second Circuit's decisions often address complex questions of federal law and serve as persuasive authority for courts in other circuits. As a member of this court during the late 1980s and 1990s, Altimari participated in the court's work during a period of significant development in various areas of federal jurisprudence.

Altimari's background in legal education, having taught at St. Francis College during two separate periods of his career, suggested an interest in the analytical and pedagogical aspects of law beyond the immediate demands of practice or adjudication. This academic experience may have informed his approach to appellate decision-making, which requires careful analysis of legal principles and clear articulation of reasoning. His death in 1998 at the age of sixty-nine ended a judicial career that had spanned more than three decades across state and federal courts.