The Fordham Law community mourns the passing of Judge John F. Keenan ’54, senior judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
During his more than four decades on the Court, Keenan presided over numerous historically significant cases, including the sentencing of high-profile terrorists, the racketeering case against former Filipino First Lady Imelda Marcos, and the conviction of 13 members of the Colombo organized crime family. He died on October 27 at age 94.
“Judge Keenan was not only a respected member of the legal profession but an esteemed member of the bench and an invaluable part of our alumni family,” said Dean Joseph Landau. “Throughout his life and career, he demonstrated his commitment to nurturing the next generation of leaders by hiring numerous Fordham Law students, exemplifying the many ways he embodied the mission of our Law School.”
Keenan graduated from Regis High School in 1947 and earned his B.B.A. from Manhattan College in 1951 and his J.D. from Fordham Law in 1954. After law school, he served two years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. In 1956, Keenan joined Halpin, Keogh & St. John, but left to become an assistant district attorney in New York County. He became the chief assistant to three district attorneys, Michael F. Armstrong of Queens, Richard H. Kuh of Manhattan, and Robert M. Morgenthau of Manhattan.
In 1976, N.Y. Gov. Hugh L. Carey and N.Y. Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz ’25 jointly named Keenan deputy attorney general, the state’s special prosecutor for corruption. In 1979, Keenan was appointed by Mayor Ed Koch as chairman and president of the city’s Off-Track Betting Corporation and was later appointed as the mayor’s Coordinator of Criminal Justice in 1982. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan nominated Keenan as district judge for the Southern District of New York. He achieved senior status in 1996.
In 1994, Chief Justice William Rehnquist appointed Keenan to serve on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He also served on the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation and the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules of the Judicial Conference for two terms.
Keenan was a devoted Fordham Law alumnus who served the Fordham community for more than 50 years. He was vice president of the Fordham Law Alumni Association board, served on search committees for new deans, taught trial advocacy, and judged moot court competitions. As a student, he led Fordham to the finals of the Sutherland Cup Moot Court Competition.
Keenan received numerous recognitions from the Fordham Law community, including the Fordham-Stein Prize in 2009 and the Milton Fisher ’42 Second Harvest Award in 2017. He was to receive the James F. Gill Spirit of Hope Award at the 2024 Feerick Center Awards and Benefit Reception, held one day after his passing.
During his time on the bench, Keenan had hired most of his clerks from Fordham Law. “Any success that I have enjoyed during my 34 years on the ‘Mother Court’ is of course due to the loyalty, the honesty, the intelligence, and the dedication of my law clerks,” he said in 2017.
“Clerking for Judge Keenan was not a job, it was a life-changing experience,” said Sharon L. McCarthy ’89, partner at Kostelanetz LLP. “Every day with Judge Keenan was new and interesting, and he has been for me, as he has been for all of his law clerks, a life-long mentor and friend.”
“He was a giant in our profession and he was a profoundly decent and humble man,” added Rita Glavin ’96, principal at Glavin PLLC. “I clerked for him for two years, but he became the most important mentor in my life. “He loved the Law School, loved the profession, and loved people. One of his largest legacies was setting an example for so many lawyers on how to practice law and be a good person.”
When he was recognized in 2019 with the Dean’s Medal of Recognition, the highest honor the dean of Fordham Law School can bestow, Keenan told guests how, at his graduation in 1954, he received a check for $100 for his exemplary performance in moot court competitions. He said he used that check to take and pass the bar exam, and to take his wife, Diane, on a date to propose.
In August 2022, Keenan was lauded by friends, family, and colleagues during the unveiling of his portrait at the Law School. First presented to Keenan in November 2008 by his then-law clerks—in celebration of his 25 years on the bench—and later displayed in the Southern District’s ceremonial courtroom, the portrait has a permanent home in the Tuohey Lounge on the 8th floor of the Law School.
Keenan is survived by his wife, Diane, daughter Marie, and two grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are pending.