Judge, Erie County Family Court

Deanne M. Tripi has been a judge of the Erie County Family Court since her election in November 2013; she was re-elected in November 2023 on the Republican, Democratic, Working Families and Conservative lines with 33.8 percent in a three-seat race, for a term ending December 31, 2033²⁷⁹. Before the bench she practiced law for 18 years, including 11 years as a partner at Palmer, Murphy and Tripi handling Family Court and Supreme Court civil matters, and served as the first chairwoman of the Eighth Judicial District Attorney Grievance Committee⁷. She holds a B.A. from the University at Buffalo (1992) and a J.D. from Pace University School of Law (1995) and was admitted in 1996²⁷. She runs on the Republican and Conservative lines; Four 14-year Supreme Court seats in the Eighth Judicial District (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming counties) are on the ballot and voters may choose up to four of seven candidates; two candidates, Michael L. Amodeo and Robert N. Richardson, are cross-endorsed by both major parties, while Bucki and Joynt run on the Democratic side, Tripi and Hickey on the Republican side, and Vario on the Conservative line only¹²⁸.

• Judge, Erie County Family Court, since January 2014 (elected November 2013; re-elected November 2023, term through December 31, 2033); custody, visitation, domestic violence, guardianship, support, abuse and neglect, and juvenile delinquency cases²⁷
• Private practice, 18 years, including 11 years as a partner at Palmer, Murphy and Tripi, Buffalo⁷
• First chairwoman, Eighth Judicial District Attorney Grievance Committee⁷
• B.A. in English and history, University at Buffalo, 1992; J.D., Pace University School of Law, 1995; admitted to the New York bar 1996²⁷
• Elected to Family Court in November 2013 and re-elected in November 2023 with all four major and minor party lines²⁷. For Supreme Court she was nominated at the September 2026 Republican judicial nominating convention for the Eighth Judicial District and also holds the Conservative line¹⁶⁸.
• Bar poll: Bar Association of Erie County Judiciary Committee ratings for the 2026 New York State Supreme Court candidates, released September 16, 2026. The committee is a 29-lawyer nonpartisan panel with no more than 14 members from any one party that reviews questionnaires, interviews and input from lawyers and judges; it uses a four-level scale of Outstanding, Well Qualified, Qualified and Not Recommended. The rating is a non-binding evaluation of qualifications and is not an endorsement. Rating: Hon. Deanne M. Tripi, Well Qualified. Ratings in this race: Amodeo Qualified; Bucki Well Qualified; Hickey Well Qualified; Joynt Well Qualified; Richardson Well Qualified; Tripi Well Qualified; Vario not included in the release; the release also rates three other people (Christopher M. Pannozzo, Kenneth A. Szyszkowski and Peter P. Vasilion) who are not on the November ballot for this race³. No 2026 rating from the Eighth Judicial District Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission was found; the commissions' ratings site lists no Eighth District ratings after 2018⁵.