Federal judge Denny Chin, known for sentencing Bernard Madoff to 150 years in prison and his proclivity to Google rain hats, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a seat on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The NY Times reports that this will make Chin the first Asian-American on the Appeals Court. Also: "His father worked as a cook in Chinese restaurants, while his mother worked as a seamstress in Chinatown garment factories. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School and Princeton, and obtained his law degree at Fordham University." Above the Law dressed up as Chin for Halloween. more ›

A convicted bank robber who appealed his case on grounds that the judge had overstepped his authority by Googling was denied his appeal today. Anthony Bari allegedly knocked over the Ridgewood Savings Bank in the Bronx in Sept. 2008 while on parole for a previous bank robbery; evidence against him included a security video, which showed the robber was wearing a yellow rain hat, similar to one found in the garage of Bari's landlord. In his sentencing Bari to three year's in jail, Judge Denny Chin noted that he had Googled rain hats to research the disguise. more ›

Regarding a lawsuit filed (PDF) by Anna Nicole Smith's former lover and lawyer Howard K. Stern, the New York Law Journal reports federal judge Denny Chin has ruled that "calling someone a homosexual would not be considered defamation per se." Stern sued TV journalist Rita Cosby, whose book, Blond Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death, claims that he and Larry Birkhead (the father of Smith's daughter) had engaged in sexual relations. Chin, who recently put Madoff behind bars) said, "Gay conduct is no longer a crime, and that gays and lesbians are no longer viewed as shameful or odious." This shift in thought, he commented, was because "of a veritable sea change in attitudes about homosexuality." However, Chin did allow 11 of the 19 alleged defamatory statements to go to trial, such as Cosby's claim that Smith had frequently watched sex tapes featuring Birkhead and Stern and that Stern pimped Smith out. [via Joe. My. God] more ›

In a courtroom packed with several hundred spectators—some of them his ruined victims—Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin. In the courtroom, Madoff told Chin, federal prosecutors and his victims that he thought he could "work his way out" of fraud and that he lives in a "tormented state." He added that he lied to his brother and sons and that his wife Ruth Madoff cries herself to sleep each night. He did turn to face his victims briefly and said:

"I'm sorry; I know that doesn't help you. I cannot offer you an excuse for my behavior. "How do you excuse betraying thousands of investors who entrusted me with their life savings? How do you excuse deceiving 200 employees who spent most of their working life with me? How do you excuse lying to a brother and two sons who spent their entire lives helping to build a successful business? How do you excuse lying to a wife who stood by you for 50 years?"