Judge Telesca was born in the month following the Wall Street Crash of 1929 at the beginning of the Great Depression. The proud son of Italian immigrants, Judge Telesca grew up speaking Italian at home, and learned English while attending public schools in the City of Rochester. He developed a love for academics and helped his parents master the English language by reading the morning newspaper to them.

Judge Telesca was the first member of his family to attend college. After graduating from the University of Rochester in 1952, he went on to obtain his law degree from the University of Buffalo Law School in 1955. After two years in the United States Marine Corps, Judge Telesca returned to Rochester to begin his legal career. He was a partner in the law firm of Lamb, Webster, Walz, Telesca & Donovan before beginning his judicial career in 1973 as a Surrogate Court Judge in Monroe County. He continued to serve in that role until 1982, when he was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to fill the seat vacated by Judge Harold Burke. Following his confirmation via unanimous consent in the Senate, he was sworn in on May 3, 1982 as Rochester’s lone federal judge.

Judge Telesca never forgot his roots: his experience growing up in a modest city household as the child of immigrant parents during the Great Depression informed and shaped his judicial philosophy and courtroom demeanor. Years later, he would say that his most important duty as a judge was trying “to listen to the voices that can’t be heard.”

Over almost four decades on the bench, including six years as Chief Judge (1989-1995) and fourteen years as a Senior Judge (1996-2020), Judge Telesca presided over thousands of federal civil and criminal cases. Although Judge Telesca had no background in criminal law before taking the bench, he became a champion of defendants’ Sixth Amendment rights, and was the driving force in the creation of the Office of the Federal Public Defender.

One of Judge Telesca’s proudest accomplishments was his role in the 2000 settlement between New York State and the more than 1,000 former Attica inmates and the families of inmates killed during the 1971 riot. This settlement came less than a year after he became involved in the 25-year-old case. To determine how the settlement would be divided among the plaintiffs, Judge Telesca asked the plaintiffs to tell their stories in open court. Over the course of several months almost 200 plaintiffs shared their emotional (and often heart-wrenching) experiences.

Judge Telesca’s work on the Attica proceeding exemplified his keen ability to bring parties together and his belief that the courts were a vehicle for citizens to receive a prompt and fair resolution of their disputes. He set the standard for judicial efficiency in the Western District, firmly adhering to the adage that “justice delayed is justice denied.”

Judge Telesca’s motto was “Dignity In and Dignity Out,” mandating that all litigants be respected throughout the proceedings. This dovetailed with Judge Telesca’s commitment to treating all litigants with compassion. He once observed that “people really do not care how much you know – people are more concerned with how much you care.”

No matter the stakes, every case Judge Telesca worked on was important to him and received his full attention. Judge Telesca believed that his decisions should be understandable to all parties – and not just their lawyers. He encouraged clear, concise, and practical judicial writing.

Judge Telesca would be the first, but not only, person to acknowledge how fortunate he was to work for decades with his dedicated and gracious secretary Joan Countryman. They were an exceptional team.

The establishment of the Telesca Center for Justice in 2005, which is a national model in providing accessible legal services to the vulnerable and underserved members of our community, is a fitting tribute to the legacy of Judge Telesca. The example Judge Telesca set and the contributions he made will forever remain woven into the fabric of the Western District.

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This memorial was prepared with the assistance and contributions of Hon. Jonathan W. Feldman.