SCHUMER APPLAUDS WESTERN NY’S JUDGE MEREDITH VACCA, THE FIRST ASIAN-AMERICAN ON THE WDNY BENCH & WHO HE RECOMMENDED, BEING OFFICIALLY SWORN IN TO WESTERN DISTRICT OF NY FEDERAL COURT
WDNY Bench, Until Recently All-Male, Is Now One Of Few 50% Female Benches In America & Judge Vacca Makes History As First Korean-American & Woman Of Color To Serve On WDNY Bench
Schumer Says Judge Vacca—A Rochester-area Native, Graduate Of The University At Buffalo School Of Law, Former Prosecutor & Acting State Supreme Court Judge—Will Bring Years Of Legal Expertise To Federal Bench & Serve With Integrity & Professionalism
Schumer: A Historic & Great Day For Western NY’s Legal Community
After recommending her to serve as a judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of New York in May and confirming her nomination in the Senate in July, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer applauded today’s swearing in of Western NY-native, Judge Meredith Anne Vacca. Marking a historic achievement for the bench, Ms. Vacca’s swearing in ceremony made the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York one of the few 50% women benches in the country. Vacca, a Korean-American, is also the first woman of color to serve as judge on the Western District of New York bench.
Schumer said, “Judge Vacca brings tremendous expertise, legal acumen, a love for the community, and deep institutional knowledge of the rule of law to the bench.” Schumer noted that Ms. Vacca hails from a well-respected legal family and that her father, Paul Vacca, is a fixture in the Rochester-area legal community.
“Today is a historic and great day for Western NY’s legal community and America,” said Senator Schumer. “As a long-time Rochester area resident and a graduate of the University of Buffalo Law School, Judge Vacca is a true blue Western New Yorker; and as a Korean-American who was adopted at 6 months old and comes from a family of attorneys, she represents the rich diversity of Monroe County. I was proud to recommend the extraordinarily qualified Judge Vacca to serve and know she will bring talent, experience, and respect for the law to the bench.”
“This is also a historic moment for the WDNY bench, as it is now one of the few 50% women benches in the country. I have been proud to nominate more women and people of all backgrounds to the bench so our court system looks more like America,” added Schumer.
Throughout his time serving as Senate Majority Leader, Schumer has made it a priority to confirm numerous female judges and people of diverse backgrounds and a range of professional experience to the bench. Under Majority Leader Schumer’s leadership, this Senate has confirmed more women, judges from more diverse professional experiences and more people of color to the bench than any full first term of any previous president in history.
When Schumer first started recommending judges as a senator, there were no women on the WDNY bench. Schumer changed that when he recommended Rochester attorney Elizabeth Wolford as the first woman to serve on the WDNY bench. Judge Wolford was confirmed in 2014 and currently serves as the Chief Judge for the WDNY. In 2021 Schumer made another historic pick in recommending Trini Ross as the WDNY U.S. Attorney, the first Black woman ever to lead the Western District of New York U.S. Attorney’s office. Now, Ms. Vacca will sit on one of the few 50 percent female benches in the country, as Schumer has focused on elevating women to these critical positions.
Most recently, Schumer singlehandedly helped turn the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York from having almost no female representation, to a majority woman bench among active judges when Capital Region native Anne Nardacci was sworn in last year. Judge Nardacci is the third woman Schumer had recommended for nomination to serve on the NDNY bench, following Judge Mae D'Agostino and Chief Judge Brenda Sannes. Currently, there are 4 active women judges in the Upstate U.S. District Courts, and Ms. Vacca’s confirmation would make her the 5th out of the 9 active federal district court judges in Upstate NY. In New York as a whole, including the federal benches in WDNY and NDNY, as well as EDNY and SDNY, 27 out of 51 active federal district court judges are women, thanks in large part to Schumer’s efforts.
The bio for Meredith Vacca appears below:
Judge Meredith Vacca, 43, a lifelong public servant who has served the Greater Rochester region for 17 years first as an Assistant Monroe County District Attorney beginning in 2007 and then as a Monroe County Judge and now an Acting New York State Supreme Court Judge, has forged an accomplished legal career. After a brief stint in private practice, Judge Vacca joined the Monroe County District Attorney’s office where she handled thousands of criminal cases through her thirteen years with the office. She served in the Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Bureau where she prosecuted felony level offenses involving domestic violence and child physical and sexual abuse cases, as well as domestic homicides and child fatalities. She worked on some of the most difficult cases and with countless victims of child abuse and domestic violence to bring them and their families justice to help them heal from the violence and trauma inflicted on them.
In 2020, Judge Vacca was elected to Monroe County Court where she presided over criminal felony level offenses, including dozens of felony jury and bench trials to verdict. Her caseload has included cases of homicide, burglaries, felony drug, gun, assault, and sexual offenses in addition to civil matters including landlord/tenant matters, consumer credit cases, and other civil matters. Since January 2023 Judge Vacca has served on the New York State Supreme Court as Acting Supreme Court Justice. Through her years on the bench, Judge Vacca has earned a stellar reputation as a knowledgeable, hardworking, and prepared judge of high moral integrity who manages her courtroom grounded in respect, fairness, discipline and compassion.
As the lone Asian American judge serving on the bench in the 7th Judicial District Judge Vacca will bring a diverse and unique perspective to the Federal Bench. She currently serves on the Board of the Asian American Judges Association of New York. As a Korean-American who was adopted at 6 months old by her Rochester parents and raised in the Town of Greece she has a deep appreciation of all the opportunities afforded to her by her adopted hometown and an inherent understanding and empathy for the challenges faced by diverse communities.
She is a graduate of the University at Buffalo School of Law and currently lives with her husband and young daughter in the City of Rochester. As a mother and through her years at the DA's Office working with children and families during their most vulnerable and needy times, Judge Vacca is passionate about helping children succeed. She created an internship program with a City of Rochester school to provide at-risk students with internships in her courtroom, and is a frequent volunteer speaker to students about the criminal justice system.
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