United States District Court for the Western District of New York

Last updated
United States District Court for the Western District of New York
(W.D.N.Y.)
Location Robert H. Jackson U.S. Courthouse
(Buffalo)
More locations
Appeals to Second Circuit
EstablishedMay 12, 1900
Judges4
Chief Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross
U.S. Marshal Charles Salina
www.nywd.uscourts.gov

The United States District Court for the Western District of New York (in case citations, W.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the western parts of Upstate New York.

Contents

Appeals are taken to the Second Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

Jurisdiction

The Western District of New York includes the following counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates. Cities within its jurisdiction include Buffalo, Rochester, and Elmira. From 1904 to 1916, the court met at the United States Post Office (Lockport, New York).

Buffalo Division comprises the following counties: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming.

Rochester Division comprises the following counties: Chemung, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, and Yates. [1]

The United States government is represented in the district by the United States Attorney for the Western District of New York. As of October 11,2021 the U.S. attorney is Trini E. Ross. [2]

Current judges

As of July 31,2024:

#TitleJudgeDuty stationBornTerm of serviceAppointed by
Active Chief Senior
16Chief Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford Rochester 19662013–present2021–present— Obama
17District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo Buffalo 19552015–present—— Obama
18District Judge John Sinatra Buffalo 19722019–present—— Trump
19District Judge Meredith Vacca Rochester 19802024–present—— Biden
11Senior Judge David G. Larimer Rochester 19441987–20091996–20022009–present Reagan
12Senior Judge Richard Arcara Buffalo 19401988–20152003–20102015–present Reagan
13Senior Judge William M. Skretny Buffalo 19451990–20152010–20152015–present G.H.W. Bush
14Senior Judge Charles J. Siragusa Rochester 19471997–2012—2012–present Clinton
15Senior Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. Rochester 19512013–20232015–20212023–present Obama

Former judges

#JudgeStateBorn–diedActive service Chief Judge Senior status Appointed byReason for
termination
1 John R. Hazel NY 1860–19511900–1931—— McKinley retirement
2 Simon L. Adler NY 1867–19341927–1934 [Note 1] —— Coolidge death
3 John Knight NY 1871–19551931–1955 [Note 2] 1948–1955— Hoover death
4 Harlan W. Rippey NY 1874–19461934–1936—— F. Roosevelt resignation
5 Harold P. Burke NY 1895–19811937–19811955–19671981 F. Roosevelt death
6 Justin C. Morgan NY 1900–19591956–1959—— Eisenhower death
7 John Oliver Henderson NY 1909–19741959–19741967–1974— Eisenhower death
8 John Thomas Curtin NY 1921–20171967–19891974–19891989–2017 L. Johnson death
9 John T. Elfvin NY 1917–20091974–1987—1987–2009 Ford death
10 Michael Anthony Telesca NY 1929–20201982–19961989–19951996–2020 Reagan death
  1. ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1927, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 16, 1928, and received commission the same day.
  2. ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 15, 1931, confirmed by the Senate on January 6, 1932, and received commission on January 9, 1932.

Chief judges

Chief Judge
Knight 1948–1955
Burke 1955–1967
Henderson 1967–1974
Curtin 1974–1989
Telesca 1989–1995
Larimer 1996–2002
Arcara 2003–2010
Skretny 2010–2015
Geraci 2015–2021
Wolford 2021–present

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

See also

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References

  1. ↑ https://www.nywd.uscourts.gov/sites/nywd/files/Buffalo%20or%20Rochester%20-%20how%20to%20determine%20where%20a%20case%20belongs_0.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  2. ↑ "U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross". www.justice.gov. October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2021.

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