Hon. Brenda K. Sannes
Chief U.S. District Judge

Brenda K. Sannes is the Chief United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York.  At the time of her appointment in 2014 she was the Appellate Chief in the United States Attorney's Office in that district.

Judge Sannes earned her B.A. degree magna cum laude, with distinction in the English Department, from Carleton College in 1980.  She earned her J.D. degree magna cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1983 where she was an articles editor for the law review and was elected to the Order of the Coif.

From 1983 to 1984, Judge Sannes clerked for the Honorable Jerome Farris on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  From 1984 to 1988, she was a litigation associate in a law firm in Los Angeles.  In 1988, she became an Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles.  During her time in that office she served as a Deputy Chief in the Narcotics Section and later as the Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council Coordinator.  She moved to Central New York in 1994 and was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of New York from 1995 until her judicial appointment in 2014.  She served as the Appellate Chief from 2005 until her appointment to the bench.

 Hon. Mae A. D'Agostino
 U.S. District Judge

 Mae Avila D'Agostino is a United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York. At the time of her appointment in 2011, she was a trial attorney with the law firm of D'Agostino, Krackeler, Maguire & Cardona, PC. Judge D'Agostino is a 1977 magna cum laude graduate of Siena College in Loudonville, New York. At Siena College Judge D'Agostino was a member of the women's basketball team. After graduating from College, she attended Syracuse University College of Law, receiving her Juris Doctor degree in May of 1980. At Syracuse University College of Law, she was awarded the International Academy of Trial Lawyers award for distinguished achievement in the art and science of advocacy.

 After graduating from Law School, Judge D'Agostino began her career as a trial attorney. She has tried numerous civil cases including medical malpractice, products liability, negligence, and civil assault.

 Judge D'Agostino is a past chair of the Trial Lawyers Section of the New York State Bar Association and is a member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American College of Trial Lawyers.

 Judge D'Agostino has participated in numerous Continuing Legal Education programs. She is an Adjunct Professor at Albany Law School where she teaches Medical Malpractice. She is a past member of the Siena College Board of Trustees, and Albany Law School Board of Trustees. She is a member of the New York State Bar Association and Albany County Bar Association.

 Hon. Anne M. Nardacci
 U.S. District Judge

 Anne M. Nardacci is a United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York. At the time of her appointment in 2022, she was a Partner at the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. She specialized in complex commercial litigation and was an expert in antitrust matters.

 Judge Nardacci began her career at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York City. In between her undergraduate studies and law school, she worked on Capitol Hill on the staff of former Congressman Michael R. McNulty.

 She previously served on the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s Antitrust Section. She is currently a member of the New York State Bar Association, and the Capital District Women’s Bar Association.

 Judge Nardacci is a cum laude graduate of Cornell Law School, where she served as an editor of the Cornell Law Review. She received her B.A. in government magna cum laude from Georgetown University, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

 Judge Nardacci is a Capital Region native, and was born in Albany, N.Y., attended East Greenbush schools and graduated from Columbia High School, where she was named a National Merit Scholar.

 Hon. Elizabeth C. Coombe
 U.S. District Judge

 Elizabeth C. Coombe is a United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York. At the time of her appointment in 2024, she was the First Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York.

Judge Coombe received her B.A., summa cum laude, from Hamilton College in 1989. She received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School in 1992, where she was an articles editor of the Journal of Law Reform.

From 1992 to 1994, Judge Coombe clerked for the Honorable Diana E. Murphy, Chief United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota. After clerking, Judge Coombe was a staff attorney for the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission and then a trial attorney for the United States Department of Justice Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch. In 1998, she became an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia. In 2003, she moved to the Northern District of New York where she continued to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney until she was appointed to the bench. Judge Coombe also held several supervisory roles in that office including First Assistant United States Attorney and Criminal Chief.

 Hon. Anthony J. Brindisi
 U.S. District Judge

 Anthony J. Brindisi is a United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York. Prior to his appointment to the federal bench, he served as a Judge on the New York State Court of Claims and as an Acting Supreme Court Justice in Oneida County.

 Before his judicial service, Judge Brindisi built a distinguished career in private practice, specializing in civil litigation matters. He ultimately became a partner at Brindisi, Murad & Brindisi-Pearlman, LLP in Utica, New York. In addition to his legal career, he has an extensive record of public service. From 2019 to 2021, he represented New York’s 22nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to that, he served in the New York State Assembly from 2011 to 2018, representing the 119th District, which includes the Utica and Rome region. From 2009 to 2011, he was a member of the Utica City School District Board of Education.

 A native of the Mohawk Valley, Judge Brindisi earned his undergraduate degree from Siena College and his law degree from Albany Law School.

 Hon. Thomas J. McAvoy
 Senior U.S. District Judge

 Thomas J. McAvoy is a United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York. At the time of his appointment in 1986, he was a member of the Broome County Legislature. He served as Chief Judge from 1993 to 2000.

 Judge McAvoy earned his A.B. degree from Villanova University in 1960, and his J.D. degree in 1964 from Albany Law School, where he served on the law review editorial board.

 Judge McAvoy was a private legal practitioner in Binghamton, N.Y. from 1964 until 1985, including with his own law firm established in 1969. He also served as a member of the Broome County Legislature in Binghamton from 1971 to 1986.

 Hon. Frederick J. Scullin Jr.  Senior U.S. District Judge

 Senior Judge Scullin received his commission appointing him a United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York on February 10, 1992, and took the oath of office on March 13, 1992. On April 6, 2000, he became Chief Judge of the Northern District of New York. He became Senior Judge on March 13, 2006.

 Judge Scullin, a native Syracusean, attended and graduated from Niagara University in 1961 and Syracuse University, College of Law in 1964.

 In November of 1964, Judge Scullin entered active duty with the United States Army, received training as a paratrooper and ranger, and thereafter served as an infantry commander with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in the Republic of Vietnam. He received numerous awards and decorations, and after release from active duty, continued to serve in the United States Army Reserve retiring in 1991 with the rank of Colonel.

 Following military service, Judge Scullin entered the private practice of law with the firm of Germain and Germain, Syracuse, New York. Thereafter, he served as an Assistant District Attorney for Onondaga County. In 1971, he was appointed by the New York State Attorney General as one of the original prosecutors of the then newly-formed Statewide Organized Crime Task Force and in that capacity, served as the Assistant in Charge of the Albany Regional Office. In 1978, he was appointed by the Governor of the State of Florida as Chief Prosecutor of the Governor's Council for the prosecution of organized crime. He returned to the private practice of law in 1980 and in 1982 was appointed the United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, a position he held until his appointment to the federal bench. In that capacity, Judge Scullin supervised numerous investigations and prosecutions in drug trafficking, organized crime, and -- most notably-- public corruption.

Senior Judge Scullin is a former member of the Second Circuit Judicial Council and was the Circuit representative on the Judicial Conference of the United States, which is the policy-making body for federal courts throughout the nation. In addition to his regular duties as a District Court Judge, Judge Scullin was a member of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, having been appointed by Chief Justice Rehnquist to a seven-year term which ended in May 2011. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court meets in Washington, DC and is in session throughout the year.

Senior Judge Scullin is a member of the Federal Court Bar Association (NDNY), Federal Bar Council, State of Florida Bar Association, the Onondaga County Bar Association (having served on the Board of Directors from 1988 to 1990), honorary member of the Board of Advisors, Syracuse University College of Law, the Law College Association of Syracuse University and is a past member and chairman of the City of Syracuse, County of Onondaga Drug & Alcohol Abuse Commission, member of the Board of Directors, Elmcrest Children's Center, Christ the King Retreat House, and the Franciscan Collaborative Ministries Advisory Council.

 Hon. Lawrence E. Kahn
 Senior U.S. District Judge

 Lawrence E. Kahn is a United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York. At the time of his appointment in 1996, he was a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.

 Judge Kahn earned his A.B. degree from Union College in 1959; his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1962; and he pursued post-graduate legal studies at Oxford University from 1962 to 1963.

 Judge Kahn engaged in the private practice of law with the Albany firm of Kahn & Kahn from 1963 to 1974. During part of this period (1963 to 1968) he was also Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Albany. From 1974 until 1980 he served as a Judge on the Albany County Surrogate's Court. In 1980 he became a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, a position which he retained until his Federal judicial appointment in 1996.

 Judge Kahn was a member of the New York National Guard from 1955 to 1965, and was honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant E-6.

He is, and has been since 1974, an adjunct professor at Sage College; and he is, and has been since 1990, an adjunct professor at Albany Law School. Judge Kahn is the author of When Couples Part (1981, Franklin Watts, publisher), and he is co-author with his brother of The Divorce Lawyer's Casebook (1972, St. Martin's Press).

 Hon. David N. Hurd
 U.S. District Judge

 David N. Hurd is a United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York. At the time of his appointment in 1999, he was a United States Magistrate Judge in that District.

 Judge Hurd earned his B.S. degree from Cornell University in 1959 and his J.D. degree cum laude from Syracuse University in 1963.

 From 1963 until 1966 he was an associate with the firms of Coughlin, Dermody, Ingalls & Guy; Abelove & Myers; and Ferris, Kehoe, Tenney & Murnane. He served as a part-time Oneida County Assistant District Attorney from 1966 until 1967, when he joined the law firm of O'Shea, Griffin, Jones & McLaughlin as an associate, becoming a partner in the firm of O'Shea, Griffin, McDonald, Hurd & Stevens in Rome, N.Y. in 1970 and remaining as such until becoming a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of New York in 1991.

 Judge Hurd was a member of the College Council of the State University of New York Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome from 1977 until 1994, serving as its Chair from 1979 until 1994.

 He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a member of the Rome Bar Association, Oneida County Bar Association, Albany County Bar Association, and New York State Bar Association.

 Hon. Glenn T. Suddaby
 U.S. District Judge

Glenn T. Suddaby is a United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York. At the time of his appointment in September 2008, he was U.S. Attorney for the Northern District.

Judge Suddaby earned his B.A. degree from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh in 1980 and his J.D. degree in 1985 from Syracuse University College of Law. In 2018, Judge Suddaby received the NYSBA Robert L. Haig Award for distinguished public service and in 2021 an Honorary Degree of Laws from SUNY Plattsburgh.

Judge Suddaby served as Assistant District Attorney for Onondaga County from 1985 – 1989. He then became a private legal practitioner with the Menter Law Firm in Syracuse from 1989 to 1992. He was appointed Chief of Homicide for the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office in 1992 and subsequently served as First Chief Assistant District Attorney until October, 2002 when he was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York.

During his time as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District, he served as Chair of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee on Border Protection & Immigration and was the Justice Department Representative to the Integrated Border Law Enforcement effort with Canada.

 Hon. Therese Wiley Dancks
 Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge

 Thérèse Wiley Dancks is a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of New York. At the time of her appointment in February of 2012, she was a founding partner in the law firm of Gale & Dancks, LLC, where her practice centered on civil litigation and trial work. She was associated with the law firm of Mackenzie Hughes, LLP from 1991 to 1997. Judge Dancks graduated magna cum laude from LeMoyne College in 1985 and earned her J.D. degree cum laude from Syracuse University College of Law in 1991 .

 Judge Dancks is a past president of the Central New York Women's Bar Association and established the organization's award winning Domestic Violence Legal Assistance Clinic during her term. She is a past director of the Onondaga County Bar Association and has been a board member of several charitable and community organizations. She served as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Hiscock Legal Aid Society and the Secretary of the Board of Directors of St. Elizabeth College of Nursing. She has co-authored articles for the Syracuse Law Review and she frequently lectures for educational institutions, professional organizations and bar associations .

 Hon. Daniel J. Stewart
 U.S. Magistrate Judge

 Daniel Stewart is a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of New York, and was appointed in 2015.

Judge Stewart, a native of Warren County, received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1985, and his J.D. from Albany Law School in 1988.  He was a trial attorney and partner at the law firm of Dreyer, Boyajian LLP for 15 years, and then with Brennan & White LLP in Queensbury NY for 10 years until the time of his appointment.

Judge Stewart has taught Civil Rights Litigation at Albany Law School since 1995, and has lectured extensively on the law of §1983.

 Hon. Miroslav Lovric
 U.S. Magistrate Judge

United States Magistrate Judge Miroslav Lovric was selected by the Board of Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York to serve as a Magistrate Judge in Binghamton, New York.  Magistrate Judge Lovric took the oath of office on July 1, 2019.

Magistrate Judge Lovric received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University and his Juris Doctorate degree from Hofstra University School of Law.  He served as an Assistant District Attorney for New York County for 8 years and as an Assistant United States Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice for the Northern District of New York in the Binghamton Office for 26 years.

 Hon. Mitchell J. Katz
 U.S. Magistrate Judge

Mitchell J. Katz was a partner with Barclay Damon LLP and a member and practice group leader of its Commercial Litigation Practice Group. Judge Katz is a 1983 graduate of Binghamton University and earned his J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1986 (cum laude). He was admitted to practice in the New York State Courts and in the Northern District of New York in 1987. Judge Katz was a shareholder and director of Menter, Rudin & Trivelpiece, P.C. from 1992 to 2018, and an associate and partner in Hiscock & Barclay from 1986 until 1992.

Judge Katz has been a member of the Onondaga County Bar Association, Federal Court Bar Association for the Northern District of New York (past president), New York State Bar Association (past Chair of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section), and New York State Chief Judge’s Advisory Council on the Commercial Division.

He previously served on the Boards of Temple Adath Yeshurun, Volunteer Lawyers Project of CNY and Syracuse Habitat for Humanity (past President).

 Hon. Paul J. Evangelista
 U.S. Magistrate Judge

 Hon. Gary L. Favro
 U.S. Magistrate Judge

Gary L. Favro is a United States Magistrate Judge (part-time) for the Northern District of New York.  At the time of his appointment in 2014, he was and remains a practicing attorney in the Law Firm:  Law Offices of Gary L. Favro PLLC in Plattsburgh, New York.

Judge Favro earned a B.S. in Political Science and a B.A. in Communications from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh in 1973 and his J.D. in 1976 from Albany Law School.

Judge Favro served as City Court Judge for the City of Plattsburgh from 1997 to 2002 and as Acting City Court Judge for the City of Plattsburgh from 1991 to 1997.

He has been in private practice from 1977 to the present time, now concentrating in real estate, business law and corporate law.

Judge Favro previously served as an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh, New York from 1979 to 1986 and as Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice at Clinton Community College in 2008 and 2009.

 Hon. David E. Peebles
 Recalled U.S. Magistrate Judge

 Judge Peebles was sworn in and began serving as a United States Magistrate Judge on May 22, 2000. He received a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1972 and a Juris Doctorate from the Syracuse University College of Law in 1975, both with honors. 

 Judge Peebles began his legal career as an Assistant Onondaga County District Attorney, and thereafter served as law clerk to the Hon. Howard G. Munson, United States District Judge for the Northern District of New York. He is also a former partner in Hancock & Estabrook, LLP, a firm with which he was affiliated since September 1978. While at Hancock & Estabrook, Judge Peebles served as chair of the Labor and Intellectual Property Law Departments, and was a member of the firm’s Executive and Practice Management Committees.

 Judge Peebles has served on the Onondaga County Association Board of Directors, and on the boards of other charitable and community organizations. He has also authored articles for and spoken at programs offered by the New York State, Onondaga County Bar, and Northern District of New York Federal Court Bar Associations on a variety of topics, including federal practice. Since becoming a magistrate judge, Judge Peebles has served on the Federal Magistrate Judges Association Board of Directors, and co-chairs the Association's Rules Committee. He is also a member of the United States Courts Administrative Office Magistrate Judges Advisory Group, and Forms Working Group and serves on a number of Second Circuit and Northern District of New York committees.

 He is also an accomplished musician, having performed on trumpet with the Atlanta Symphony and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.

 Hon. Andrew T. Baxter
 Recalled U.S. Magistrate Judge

 Andrew T. Baxter is a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of New York in Syracuse. At the time of his appointment in January 2010, he was the Interim United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York. Judge Baxter earned an A.B. in Economics from Princeton University in 1978 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1981.

 Andrew T. Baxter served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Syracuse from 1988, at various times holding the positions of Senior Litigation Counsel, Chief of the Criminal Division, and First Assistant U.S. Attorney. Judge Baxter was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of New Jersey from 1984 through 1988, after engaging in the private practice of law in Philadelphia for three years.