Hon. Frank P. Geraci, Jr.

Judge Geraci grew up in a middle-class Irish Catholic neighborhood in Rochester with four sisters, an immigrant father from Italy and a stay-at-home mom. He said he did not know many lawyers.

The judge went through the Catholic school system. He was the first member of his family to attend college. A graduate of the University of Dayton, both for undergraduate and law school (1977), he chose Dayton because it was Catholic and he felt he could be more independent 500 miles away from home.

Later, he applied what he learned in law school to the real world, his deeply ingrained Catholic ethics sparking an interest in public service and the law. “Serve and make a difference,” he said.

Because he enjoyed litigation and trial work, he sought a job as a prosecutor after law school. As an assistant district attorney and then as an assistant U.S. Attorney, he battled organized crime and took on extensive drug, homicide, rape, robbery and other “dramatic and exciting” criminal cases.

Eventually, in 1987, he went into private practice with a lawyer friend, John Feldman. The firm, Geraci and Feldman, specialized in civil and criminal litigation. They also opened an arbitration and mediation business, skills that helped the judge throughout his career.

When a spot opened on the Rochester City Court bench, he decided to run for election. That led to a stint as a Monroe County Court judge, acting Supreme Court judge and the federal bench. President Barack Obama appointed him for life. 

Helping young people is vitally important to the judge. He believes role modeling and mentoring youth by aspiring lawyers can prevent dangerous or illegal behavior.

Judge Geraci considers one of his most important accomplishments the founding of Rochester’s Teen Court, a diversion program that gives nonviolent teenage offenders a second chance. It’s run by the Center for Youth for teens ages 16-18, and teen jurors recommend sentencing. Volunteers staff the Teen Court program, which has been running for 20 years.