Mark Scarsi, a judge appointed by former president Donald Trump, is the presiding judge in the criminal case against Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden. Scarsi possesses extensive experience in the realm of intellectual property law, and has a record of bipartisan support. The judge, formerly a defender of technology companies such as Apple Inc. and Google’s Alphabet Inc. in patent conflict cases, will oversee the trial involving felony tax and other tax-related charges against Biden, scheduled for arraignment this Thursday in Los Angeles. Read more here.
Described as an open-minded, strong communicator, Scarsi isn’t known to push a political agenda from the bench — a trait that sets him apart from some Trump appointees who faced criticism for promoting conservative ideologies while presiding over legal matters. Scarsi, before taking the judge’s seat in 2020 in the Central District of Los Angeles, was a partner at Milbank, and he passed the Senate confirmation with 83-12 votes.
Scarsi, born in Syracuse, New York, in 1964, has degrees from Syracuse University and has attended law school at Georgetown University Law Center. Prior to becoming a judge, he spent over a decade on partnership with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, and worked as a managing partner in their Los Angeles office. His career prior to law was in engineering, at Lockheed Martin Corp.
The criminal case against Hunter Biden isn’t Scarsi’s first high-profile case. As a trial attorney, the judge has defended Apple in a patent infringement case against NetAirus Technologies in a jury trial in late 2013, which ultimately favored Apple. As a judge, he has handled cases concerning intellectual property and corporate disputes, including invalidating a patent claimed against eHarmony and Match Group Inc., which owns Tinder and Hinge, in August.
Besides his extensive IP cases, he also has experience in financial crime cases. In 2022, he sentenced actor Zach Horowitz, also known as Zach Avery, to 20 years in prison for his part in a $650 million Ponzi scheme.
The cumulative opinion from his colleagues states that Scarsi is an individual devoid of any agenda, inclined to take fair decisions based on an open-minded, level-headed approach, with his attention focused on meticulously analyzing the details of the cases he presides over.