Richard C. Wesley

This article is about the U.S. federal judge. For the playwright, see Richard Wesley.

Richard C. Wesley (born August 1, 1949 in Canandaigua, New York) is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

[edit] Education and background

Wesley attended the State University of New York at Albany followed by Cornell Law School. He began his career as a lawyer in private practice in Pittsford and Geneseo, New York. He served as assistant counsel to the minority party of the New York State Assembly from 1979 to 1982. From 1983 to 1987, he served as a Republican member of the Assembly.

Wesley's judicial career began with his election to the New York State Supreme Court in 1986. He served as a trial judge on the Supreme Court from 1987 until 1994, when he was promoted to the Appellate Division. In 1997, New York Governor George Pataki selected Wesley as his first appointee to serve as an Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, New York's highest court.

On March 5, 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Wesley to the Second Circuit in order to fill the seat vacated by Judge Pierre N. Leval, who took Senior status. The U.S. Senate confirmed Wesley's nomination just over three months later by a vote of 96-0 on June 11, 2003.