Judge Hugh B. Scott

“Your Honor, I ask the Court to sentence my client to an unconditional discharge.”

The client in question, an honorably discharged veteran in crisis, had caused havoc at the VA Medical Center in Buffalo. Some thought his behavior merited criminal charges, and he was brought before the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. But cooler heads prevailed, and all sought to resolve the incident without adding a criminal conviction to the man’s difficulties.

Fortunately, the perfect procedural mechanism was available. Federal law, which applies to offenses committed on federal lands, incorporates state criminal provisions. These include non-criminal dispositions like disorderly conduct. In Buffalo City Court, non-criminal dispositions are usually punished with a conditional discharge, meaning that the defendant needs to stay out of trouble for a period of time. Conditional discharges are a rarity in federal court, however. The unconditional discharge I requested was even rarer.

But the judge to whom I put this request—Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott—was a rare jurist. He began his judicial career on the City Court bench, and in his ten years there had presided over thousands of non-criminal dispositions. He knew my request was a throwback to his early career, and he knew my client deserved a measure of leniency. He gave one of his well-known smiles—judicious, intelligent, thoughtful—and imposed a considered and fair sentence: a conditional discharge. It wasn’t what I advocated for, but it was still an outcome that allowed my client to go on with his life without a criminal conviction or any further entanglement with the federal criminal-justice system.

When Judge Scott passed away a few days ago, he left a legacy of accomplishment and massive contributions to the cause of justice in Buffalo. Hundreds of lawyers, prosecutors and defense attorneys alike, have stories like the one I just related. And all can attest to how fairly Judge Scott treated everyone who appeared before him.

More than that, Judge Scott was an excellent jurist. The work of a federal magistrate judge consists largely of issuing search warrants, deciding whether to detain or release criminal defendants pending trial, handling discovery disputes in civil cases, making an initial determination on motions filed in both civil and criminal cases, trying certain civil cases, and imposing sentences in non-felony criminal cases like my veteran client’s. In discharging these duties, Judge Scott had the mix of temperament, skill, knowledge, work ethic, and procedural control that made him a worthy successor to the late, and equally legendary, Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Maxwell. 

To me, Judge Scott’s sterling qualities shone most brightly in deciding motions to suppress evidence. In his 37 years on the bench, he heard hundreds if not thousands of these motions, and he took them all seriously. He had no hesitation in convening a hearing to resolve unknown or disputed facts, and he let the lawyers put on their proof.  Thirty days after argument, the parties would almost always have his decision, even as a surplus of cases and a dearth of judges swelled his docket. Those decisions cut straight to the key factual and legal issues, and invariably reflected Judge Scott’s independence, his high regard for the constitutional rights of property and privacy, and his determination to reach a just result.

 Magistrate-judge rulings usually can be appealed to the assigned district judge, and many judges, state and federal, are (naturally) irked when their rulings are appealed—still more so when the appeal is successful. It is a testament to Judge Scott’s legal mind that most of his decisions withstood appeal. It is a testament to his character that no attorney who challenged one of his rulings ever heard a word about it.

 These personal qualities made Judge Scott an excellent mentor to many young attorneys. His mentorship applied not just to those who worked for him or appeared before him, but to lawyers generally, through the law school and the wider community.

 I am confident that I speak for entire legal community when I say that his presence, touch, acumen, and grace will be deeply missed.