Meredith Anne Vacca at a glance
- Current role
- Judge
- Jurisdiction
- New York · Federal
- Judicial service
- Active
Meredith Anne Vacca
Judge · U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York
Service record and verification
Judicial service and assignments
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York · Judge · Active · August 1, 2024–present · Assignment source ↗
Appointment and verification
- Appointment method
- Presidential appointment with Senate confirmation
- Appointing authority
- Joseph R. Biden
- Source authority
- Federal Judicial Center Biographical Directory
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Biography
Professional career
- American jurist and United States District Judge for the Western District of New York, serving since August 1, 2024
- 2023–2024: Acting justice on the New York Supreme Court
- Judge, Monroe County [New York] Court, 2021-2024
- 2020–2024: Judge of the Monroe County Court, the only Asian American judge on the bench in the Seventh Judicial District
- Assistant district attorney, Monroe County, New York, 2007-2020
- Vacca’s appointment made the WDNY bench one of the few in the U.S. with 50% women and added a Korean-American judge to a historically male court
- The first Asian American and first woman of color on that court, and only its second female district judge
Education
- J.D. — State University of New York at Buffalo Law School — 2005
- B.A. from Colgate University (2002) and a J.D. from the University at Buffalo School of Law (2005)
Additional information
- President Joe Biden nominated Vacca on May 14, 2024 to replace Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr., who took senior status in 2023.
- Private practice, Buffalo and Rochester, New York, 2006-2007
- Born 1980 in Busan, South Korea.
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Remote appearances
Courtwide
In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards.
For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location.Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court ↗
Recording and broadcasting
Courtwide
Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception.
Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited ↗
Published courtroom rules
Judge and named-part rules
Published judge / part rules (7 excerpts)
See document heading and cited passage; do not apply outside the issuing part or proceeding.
Official rules document ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27
Motion practice
The Court will typically set its own briefing schedule once a motion has been filed. However, where no briefing schedule has been issued, parties should refer to L.R. Civ. P. 7(b)(2). Parties may request oral argument on any motion, and the Court will schedule argument if it determines that argument may be helpful to resolution of the motion.
Source page web_or_saved_captureCommunications with chambers
The page limits of L.R. Civ. P. 7(a)(2)(C), and the requirements of L.R. Civ. P. 10, will be strictly enforced, unless the party makes an appropriate application to the Court. Additionally, parties shall provide courtesy copies of all dispositive motions and associated papers – including exhibits – to Chambers with the headers generated by CM/ECF upon filing.
Source page web_or_saved_captureAdjournments
A schedule may be modified only for good cause and with the Court’s consent ( see, e.g ., Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4)). Counsel may file letter motions through CM/ECF for an adjournment or extension of time with consent of all relevant parties. In the absence of the requisite consent, a formal motion for adjournment or extension of time must be filed with the Court.
Source page web_or_saved_captureCommunications with chambers
Immediately after the filing of a request for injunctive or expedited relief in any case assigned to Judge Vacca, the moving party must telephone Chambers (585-613-4370) and send an email to the Chambers address ( vacca@nywd.uscourts.gov ) to notify the Court that the motion has been filed. The Court shall determine the briefing schedule and return date applicable to any such motions.
Source page web_or_saved_captureMotion practice
Requests for injunctive relief shall be made in the form and manner set forth in L.R. Civ. P. 65. Requests to have the motion heard on an expedited basis must also comply with L.R. Civ. P. 7(d). Style Guide
Source page web_or_saved_captureMotion practice
It is expected that all motion papers will conform to the requirements set forth in L.R. Civ. P. 7(a)(2)(C) and L.R. Crim P. 12(c), unless the Court has expressly allowed otherwise. Judge Vacca prefers citations per The Bluebook style. Citations to legal authority should be included in the text of a memorandum of law, not footnotes.
Source page web_or_saved_captureMotion practice
The Court strongly encourages litigants to permit more junior members of the litigation team to examine witnesses at trial and hearings, and to appear for oral argument before the Court. Indeed, in those instances where the Court is inclined to rule on the papers, a representation that the argument would be handled by a more junior lawyer will weigh in favor of holding oral argument. In addition, under circumstances where the more junior attorney is permitted to present the argument to the Court, the Court will entertain reasonable requests for the more senior attorney to supplement any argument that is made. The Court believes it is crucial to provide substantive speaking opportunities to young lawyers, and that the benefits of doing so will accrue to all members of the profession and their clients. Thus, the Court encourages all lawyers practicing before it to keep this goal in mind. It is the way one generation will teach the next to try cases and to maintain our district’s reputation for excellence in trial practice.
Source page web_or_saved_captureShared court rules
Western District of New York — Local Rules of Civil Procedure
U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York
WDNY federal district-court civil proceedings only; not criminal proceedings or Bankruptcy Court.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025
U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York
Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025
U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York
Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Sources
Identity source checked July 25, 2026.
Biography sources checked August 3, 2026.
Federal Judicial Center biography
Identity source · HTML · Federal Judicial Center Biographical Directory · effective August 1, 2024 · Source checked July 25, 2026
View Federal Judicial Center biography ↗Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court
Courtwide source · HTML · Supreme Court of the United States and Judicial Conference of the United States · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court ↗Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited
Courtwide source · HTML · Supreme Court of the United States and Judicial Conference of the United States · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited ↗