Legal scholars say Gertner is known as meticulous jurist. Preparation, rulings lauded

[Ian David]

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff | July 27, 2007

US District Court Judge Nancy Gertner leafed through the sheets of her prepared judgment yesterday and in a stern and steady voice blasted the FBI's mishandling of evidence that could have prevented four men from being sent to prison for a total of 109 years.

Gertner called the government's defense absurd and said that FBI agents coddled a witness they knew had committed perjury. "The defendant started this fire. . . . The fire was to burn for many years," she told the courtroom.

Appointed to the federal bench in 1993 by President Clinton, whom she met while at Yale Law School, Gertner has gained a reputation in the legal community as a judge who doesn't raise her voice but uses rigorous rhetoric when she feels the need.

In September 2005, Gertner issued a scathing criticism of the federal jury system, saying it prevented minorities from being called for jury duty.



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