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Richard C. Wesley
Richard Carl Wesley (born August 1, 1949) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He previously served on every level of New York's judiciary—including six years on the state's highest court—and represented New York's 136th District in the state legislature.
Wesley was raised in the hamlet of Hemlock, New York, where his father drove a fuel-oil delivery truck and mother worked first as a butcher and later a nurse. He earned a B.A. summa cum laude in American History from the University at Albany, SUNY, where he played on the university’s inaugural football squad and served in student government. He received his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1974 and was an editor of the Cornell Law Review.
Wesley began his legal career with Harris Beach in Rochester, before returning to Geneseo as a partner at Welch, Streb & Porter. From 1979 to 1982 he served as assistant counsel and chief legislative aide to New York Assembly Minority Leader James L. Emery.
In 1982, Wesley was elected as a Republican to represent New York's 136th State Assembly district. He was reelected in 1984.
Wesley's judicial career began with his election to the New York State Supreme Court in 1986. He served as a trial judge in Rochester from 1987 to 1994 and created the Monroe County felony-screening program, credited with reducing felony backlogs by more than 60 percent.
Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo appointed Wesley to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department in 1994. On December 3, 1996, Republican Governor George Pataki nominated him to the New York Court of Appeals, calling the choice his “most important judicial nomination.” The State Senate unanimously confirmed Wesley on January 14, 1997. He served on the Court of Appeals from 1997 until his federal confirmation in 2003.
On March 5, 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Wesley to the Second Circuit to fill the seat vacated by Judge Pierre N. Leval. Then-Senator Hillary Clinton supported Judge Wesley as a “superb jurist” and a person who had sought to improve the quality of justice and the lives of the people who appeared before him. Senator Chuck Schumer described Wesley as having "a top-flight legal mind" and someone who "has made an excellent judge in New York State." The United States Senate approved the nomination on June 11, 2003, by a 96–0 vote.
Since his appointment to the federal bench, Wesley has served on several judicial rule-making bodies, including the Judicial Conference’s Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure and the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules. He also chaired the Second Circuit’s 125th-Anniversary committee in 2017–18.
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Richard C. Wesley
Richard Carl Wesley (born August 1, 1949) is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He previously served on every level of New York's judiciary—including six years on the state's highest court—and represented New York's 136th District in the state legislature.
Wesley was raised in the hamlet of Hemlock, New York, where his father drove a fuel-oil delivery truck and mother worked first as a butcher and later a nurse. He earned a B.A. summa cum laude in American History from the University at Albany, SUNY, where he played on the university’s inaugural football squad and served in student government. He received his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1974 and was an editor of the Cornell Law Review.
Wesley began his legal career with Harris Beach in Rochester, before returning to Geneseo as a partner at Welch, Streb & Porter. From 1979 to 1982 he served as assistant counsel and chief legislative aide to New York Assembly Minority Leader James L. Emery.
In 1982, Wesley was elected as a Republican to represent New York's 136th State Assembly district. He was reelected in 1984.
Wesley's judicial career began with his election to the New York State Supreme Court in 1986. He served as a trial judge in Rochester from 1987 to 1994 and created the Monroe County felony-screening program, credited with reducing felony backlogs by more than 60 percent.
Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo appointed Wesley to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department in 1994. On December 3, 1996, Republican Governor George Pataki nominated him to the New York Court of Appeals, calling the choice his “most important judicial nomination.” The State Senate unanimously confirmed Wesley on January 14, 1997. He served on the Court of Appeals from 1997 until his federal confirmation in 2003.
On March 5, 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Wesley to the Second Circuit to fill the seat vacated by Judge Pierre N. Leval. Then-Senator Hillary Clinton supported Judge Wesley as a “superb jurist” and a person who had sought to improve the quality of justice and the lives of the people who appeared before him. Senator Chuck Schumer described Wesley as having "a top-flight legal mind" and someone who "has made an excellent judge in New York State." The United States Senate approved the nomination on June 11, 2003, by a 96–0 vote.
Since his appointment to the federal bench, Wesley has served on several judicial rule-making bodies, including the Judicial Conference’s Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure and the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules. He also chaired the Second Circuit’s 125th-Anniversary committee in 2017–18.