HON. SUSAN CACACE

Such assignments included presiding over the SCI Conference Part which required her to conference potential case dispositions with defense attorneys and ADA’s, while simultaneously serving as a trial judge presiding over felony charges ranging from murder, robbery, burglary, illegal gun possession and sex crimes committed against all manner of victims.

Shortly after she took the bench, Judge Cacace’s unique qualifications and expertise in the areas of crimes against children and sex offenses committed against the most vulnerable victims, our children and our elderly, lead to her assignment to preside over the Sex Offense Part in 2010 - a position that she has continued to hold for the ensuing 14-years. In this capacity, Judge Cacace was responsible for handling all felony sex crimes throughout all phases of their prosecution in the County Court, including many, many trials of such cases. In addition, Judge Cacace handled the hearing required for those cases falling within the scope of the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA), and further monitored the level of mandated compliance by sex offenders with the terms and conditions of their probation supervision while at liberty in the community, all of which were designed to provide the greatest level of protection  to the community.

These responsibilities undertaken through the Sex Offense Part also included presiding over those cases which are identified by the Attorney General of the State of New York to require evaluation under Mental Hygiene Law Article 10, involving the management or civil confinement of those convicted sex offenders who, by medical evidence provided by expert psychiatric doctors, are afflicted with mental abnormalities that present and unacceptable level of future risk of sexual harm to members of the public if they were to be released to the community.

In addition, Judge Cacace served as the first presiding judge of the DWI Part of Westchester County, where she spearheaded the crafting of consistent dispositions of all felony-level DWI cases throughout Westchester County from its creation in 2014 through December of 2023, when she formally retired as required by law for her to be able to run for election as District Attorney.

Notably, these specific designations and specialized assignments that Judge Cacace carried throughout her judicial career, further included her full case load of Article 78 proceedings which enabled her to bring her vast criminal justice experience to the civil realm, where she was well-respected throughout the legal community for her well-balanced resolution of the wide variety of legal challenges raised to all manner of governmental action taken by the State of New York, as well as those of the cities, towns and villages throughout Westchester County. In addition, Judge Cacace was responsible for issuing search warrants, determining Habeas Corpus petitions, conducting suppression hearings, reviewing bail decisions made in the local criminal courts, arraigning fugitives from justice, and resolving all manner of motions related to criminal proceedings.

It is against this backdrop, including Judge Cacace’s many years of service as an Assistant District Attorney, where she tried felony cases as a member of the Superior Court Trial Division while also coordinating the Animal Cruelty Division, and her more recent years of service presiding over many, many felony trials of all variety of crimes as a trial judge of the Court for the past 20-years, and her tenure between these positions working as a defense attorney with her husband of 25-years, James Dibbini, Esq., that Judge Cacace presents herself as the most experienced and qualified candidate for the Office of District Attorney, the only candidate who can truly appreciate the interplay from all sides of the criminal justice equation, and who has demonstrated the ability to successfully apply such experience to ensure the fair administration of justice.

Regarding her professional education, Judge Cacace earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in English from Pace University, having attended on a full academic scholarship, and later earned her law degree from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, having attended as the recipient of the first Columbian Lawyers Association of Westchester County scholarship.

Judge Cacace is an active leader in both the legal and civic communities, having served as President of the Yonkers Lawyers Association, Director of the Columbian Lawyers Association, Committee Member of the Joseph F. Gagliardi Award for Excellence, member of the New York State and the Westchester County Bar Associations, as well as the Brandeis Law Society, and past President and Vice President of the Yonkers Lions Club. She currently lives in Bronxville with her husband and their three beloved daughters, Sophia, Isabella and Marielle.