A group affiliated with Occupy Wall Street has come to the defense of a federal judge who is on the ropes in his fight with the Securities and Exchange Commission over whether he can reject a settlement he thinks is unfair.
In an amicus "friend of the court" brief filed earlier this week, the Occupy-associated group argues that Manhattan federal district Judge Jed Rakoff acted within his rights when he threw out a $285 million settlement between the SEC and Citigroup late last year. Rakoff said in November that the "neither admit nor deny" language left him no way to determine whether the settlement was fair.
While the well-reasoned brief is notable — a sign, perhaps, that some affiliated with the Occupy movement are developing into a more traditional advocacy group — it likely won't swing momentum in favor of Rakoff. At every other turn, the judge is losing the fight to exert judicial authority over agreements reached between the SEC and defendants like Citigroup.
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