Judge Martin Feldman: 3 More High Profile Rulings from the Offshore Drilling Moratorium Buster

Thrust into the national spotlight following his decision that overturns President Barack Obama's six-month moratorium on deepwater offshore drilling, Judge Martin Feldman has been behind other controversial rulings during the course of his judicial career.

Freedom of the Press: On Feb. 24, Feldman ruled in favor of The New York Times and the nonprofit news organization ProPublica in a libel case over the reporting of mistreatment of medical patients following Hurricane Katrina.

Real Estate Development and RICO: On Sept. 13, Feldman dismissed a lawsuit filed by 50 residents of a housing complex near Slidell, La., who had sued the owner of their development. The plaintiffs claimed that they had paid into a common fund for repairs, but that the owner had never used that money to upgrade the property.

Free Speech and Advertising: On Aug. 4, Feldman ruled against the state of Louisiana in its efforts to regulate Internet advertising by lawyers, noting a distinction between traditional print ads and those on the Web.

A graduate of Tulane Law School, class of 1957, Feldman was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. He has served on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana since that time. On May 19, Feldman was appointed to a seven-year term on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which overseas government wiretapping and surveillance requests.