SCHUMER ANNOUNCES CONFIRMATION OF HON. FRANK GERACI AS A FEDERAL JUDGE FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK IN ROCHESTER
Schumer Nominated Hon. Frank Geraci to Serve on U.S. District Court For Western District of NY In February
Geraci Has Served Rochester Region as Highly Respected Judge for Over 20 Years
Schumer: Judge Geraci Experience and Devotion to the Legal System And Will Be An Excellent Judge
Last week, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the Honorable Frank P. Geraci, Jr., whom he recommended to President Obama in February 2012, has been confirmed to serve as a judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. Schumer said that his stellar legal background, life-long ties to the region, even-handedness, temperament and demonstrated leadership skills will make him an excellent judge for the Western District Court.
“Today is the day that Judge Frank Geraci, and all of Western New York have been waiting for, and I am thrilled that he will serve as a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of New York,” said Schumer. “Judge Geraci’s first-rate legal mind, steadfast dedication to the professional administration of justice and deep knowledge of Monroe County and Western New York will make him an incredible judge for the federal bench. Judge Geraci has shown himself to be an outstanding legal professional through his service as a district and federal prosecutor, in addition to his 20 years as a city and county judge in Rochester.
Schumer continued, “Judge Geraci is a man dedicated to the legal system and to Western New York, and I have every confidence that he will serve his jurisdiction well.”
Judge Geraci is a product of the region and attended high school at McQuaid Jesuit in Brighton, NY, just a few miles away from the city and county courthouses where he has served as a judge for over two decades. He is a graduate of the University of Dayton and University of Dayton Law School. As a young lawyer, Geraci served Monroe County as a Special Assistant District Attorney from 1978 to 1983. In the District Attorney’s office, Geraci was the Chief of Special Investigations Bureau and Chief of the DWI Bureau. He gained valuable experience prosecuting cases that ranged from organized crime to narcotics to vehicular manslaughter.
After his work as a Special Assistant District Attorney’s office, Geraci joined the Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney in New York’s Western District from 1983-1987. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Geraci represented the United States as counsel in civil and criminal litigation in the U.S. District Court and the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. Geraci was also assigned to the Organized Crime Drug Task Force in Rochester.
Following his decade of service as a prosecutor, Geraci spent five years as a certified mediator and defense attorney, specializing in civil and criminal litigation in federal and state courts, real estate and collections. In November 1991, Geraci was elected to a 10-year term as a Rochester City Court Judge in the New York State Unified Court System. He continued to gain legal expertise as he presided over criminal and civil cases in his hometown.
In November 1998, Judge Geraci was elected to a 10-year term as a Monroe County Court Judge and Acting Supreme Court Justice in the New York State Unified Court System. As a testament to his consistently high level of excellence, he was re-elected in 2008. In his current role, Judge Geraci has presided over sex offender registrations, pistol permit applications, mental health hearings and uncontested divorces.
In addition to an impressive career as a prosecutor, mediator, defense attorney and judge, Geraci has given back to his community in myriad unseen ways. He served as an adjunct professor at St. John Fisher College for five years, founded the Rochester Teen Court and provided court tours to Rochester-area youth. He has coached little league for as long as he has served as a judge. For the last decade, Judge Geraci has been an active member of the 9/11 Commemoration Committee.
Below are Schumer’s remarks, as prepared, given before the vote:
Mr/Madam President, I rise today in strong support of an outstanding nominee for the federal bench in the Western District of New York, Judge Frank Paul Geraci Jr.
The federal district court in the Western District of our state serves Rochester and Buffalo. These cities are large, vibrant centers of the commercial and legal community of the State—in fact, each city has a population of over a million residents.
Judge Geraci has been an important and respected part of this community his entire life.
He was born in Rochester, graduated from McQuaid Jesuit High School, and left long enough to earn both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Dayton in Ohio--staying within the Jesuit fold, I might add, by attending that esteemed institution.
He returned to Rochester and immediately leapt into public service, working for 5 years in the Monroe County District Attorney's Office and rising to become chief of the Special Investigations Bureau.
Judge Geraci then contributed another 4 years of distinguished service to Rochester as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District, serving in Rochester. In 1988, he left and formed his own law firm.
Mr./Madam President, I was particularly impressed, as I got to know Judge Geraci, by the fact that while he was in private practice, he also served as a mediator and expert in alternative dispute resolution. I have come to believe, as a Senator from a State with among the heaviest caseloads in the country, that an important part of managing a docket is getting parties to talk to each other before they are staring at an imminent trial date.
It is likely that few nominees know this truth better than Judge Geraci. Over and above his dispute resolution experience, he has been a judge in the city of Rochester, in Monroe County, and on the bench of the New York State Supreme Court for 20 years.
I have served on the Senate Judiciary Committee for my entire time in the Senate, since 1998, and Mr./Madam President, rarely – if ever – have I encountered a candidate who so perfectly combines judicial experience, judicious temperament, and complete dedication to his community as Judge Geraci.
Taken together, the breadth and depth of his professional experience in both the State and Federal system, civil and criminal, makes him a perfect fit for the Federal bench in Rochester.
But Judge Geraci's sterling qualifications do not stop there. His dedication to his community, it is no exaggeration to say, is legendary. When you mention his name, people say, "Of course – what a great and obvious choice."
Monroe County is small enough that the members of the Bar all know him, but large enough that many lawyers, like Judge Geraci, do have the opportunity to have varied and deep experience.
Judge Geraci has worked for the bar and bench on issues such as criminal case management and jury diversification. He has served on boards and governing bodies of the diocese's Catholic schools. He even has conducted court tours, coached girls' basketball, and served as the President of the local Little League.
Mr./Madam President, Judge Geraci has earned the admiration of the people of the Western District of New York, and in turn they deserve no less than an accomplished lawyer of his intelligence and magnanimity to serve on the Federal bench. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss such a fine man, and I am that we are finally moving on his nomination.
I will conclude with one final observation: The seat for which Judge Geraci is about to be confirmed has been vacant since March of 2009, making it a judicial emergency vacancy. His is one of 13 remaining judicial nominations pending on the calendar, 11 of whom have received bipartisan support in the Judiciary Committee.
I hope that we can continue to vote on nominees and get all of these qualified candidates confirmed before the end of the year.
Thank you.