Confidential Law Clerk to Supreme Court Justice Frank Caruso

Robert N. Richardson has been confidential law clerk to State Supreme Court Justice Frank Caruso since 2007, handling civil litigation, mental hygiene guardianship applications, matrimonial matters and extreme risk protection orders, after earlier work as an assistant Erie County district attorney in Buffalo City Court, the justice courts and the Special Investigations Bureau⁷. He grew up in the Town of Tonawanda, earned a mathematics degree at Colgate University and his law degree at the University at Buffalo School of Law, and was president of the Niagara County Bar Association for four years⁷. He is cross-endorsed, appearing on the Democratic, Republican and Conservative lines (this guide codes him R because more of his lines are on that side); 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.

• Confidential Law Clerk to Justice Frank Caruso, New York State Supreme Court, Eighth Judicial District, since 2007⁷
• Assistant District Attorney, Erie County District Attorney's Office (Buffalo City Court, justice courts, then the Special Investigations Bureau handling drug and juvenile cases)⁷
• Board member and four-year president of the Niagara County Bar Association; former board member of the Erie County Aid to Indigent Prisoners Society⁷
• B.A. in mathematics, Colgate University; J.D., University at Buffalo School of Law⁷
• Cross-endorsed: nominated at both the Democratic and Republican judicial nominating conventions for the Eighth Judicial District in September 2026 and also holds the Conservative line; Supreme Court justices are chosen through party conventions and elected to 14-year terms¹⁶⁸.
• 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: Robert Richardson, 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.