Cogan was born in 1954 in Chicago. He graduated from
University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Arts in 1975 and received his
Juris Doctor from
Cornell Law School in 1979, where he was an editor of the
Cornell Law Review. Following graduation, Cogan clerked for Judge
Sidney Aronovitz of the
United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Prior to his appointment to the federal bench, Cogan was a partner of
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in New York City.
Federal judicial service Cogan was nominated by President
George W. Bush on January 25, 2006, to a seat vacated by
Frederic Block. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate on May 4, 2006, and received his commission on June 7, 2006. Cogan assumed
senior status on June 12, 2020.
Notable cases United States v. Guzmán Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, a Mexican drug lord and former leader of the
Sinaloa Cartel, was extradited from Mexico to the United States in January 2017, on charges including drug trafficking, money laundering, and murder. The trial began on November 5, 2018, and lasted until February 12, 2019, when the jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts.
United States v. Harun Ibrahim Adnan “Spin Ghul” Harun, an
al Qaeda operative, was extradited from Italy to the United States in October 2012 on charges including conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals, conspiracy to bomb a U.S. government facility, conspiracy to provide, and providing material support to al Qaeda, and use of explosives in connection with a felony offense. Harun was sentenced to life in prison on February 16, 2018.
United States v. Sun Linda Sun, a former aide to New York Governors
Cuomo and
Hochul, and her husband, Chris Hu, were indicted in 2024 on charges including violations of the
Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, and tax evasion. After a five-week trial and two weeks of deliberations, the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict, and a mistrial was declared. ==References==