Susan Cacace (New York)
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Susan Cacace | |
|---|---|
| District Attorney of Westchester County | |
| In office January 27, 2025 – Present | |
| Preceded by | Mimi Rocah |
| Judge of the Court of Westchester County, New York | |
| In office January 1, 2006 – December 31, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Lester B Adler |
| Succeeded by | Ann B. Bianchi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 16, 1964 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Other political affiliations | Republican Conservative Independence Reform[1] |
| Spouse | James G. Dibbini |
| Education | Pace University (BA) Elisabeth Haub School of Law (JD) |
| Profession | Attorney, judge, politician |
Susan Marie Cacace is an American politician currently serving as District Attorney for Westchester County, New York. Cacace was elected as Westchester County's 36th district attorney in 2024. Before assuming the county's top prosecutor role, she served as a Westchester County trial judge.[2]
Cacace was born on April 16, 1964, to Patricia McCann and Robert W. Cacace. Her father had served as a Justice of the Peace from 1957 to 1961 and a City Judge in Yonkers, New York from 1968 until his death in 1986.[3]
Cacace obtained a bachelor's degree in English from Pace University in 1986, before also earning a juris doctorate from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law, which was then-called Pace Law School, three years later.[4]
After graduating law school, Cacace worked as an assistant district attorney in Westchester County for about fifteen years. During her tenure as a prosecutor, she led the county's first dedicated animal cruelty unit.[5]
Judicial and political career
Cacace first ran for public office in 2002, seeking a position as a justice on New York State Supreme Court in the judicial 9th district. However, she failed to secure seat on the court.[6] She later joined her husband as a partner at the law firm Cacace & Dibbini.[7]
In 2005, Cacace won an election as a Westchester County Court Judge, beating Republican Party candidate Charles Devlin.[8] In 2008, she was also designated as an Acting Justice of the Supreme Court by Chief Administrative Judge Ann T. Pfau.[9] While serving her first term as a Westchester County judge, Cacace acted as the county's handgun licensing officer, a role that made her the named defendant in Kachalsky v. Cacace (2010), a federal Second Amendment challenge to New York's 'proper cause' requirement for concealed carry permits. The case was affirmed by the Second Circuit as Kachalsky v. County of Westchester, 701 F.3d 81 (2d Cir. 2012), before being effectively superseded by New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022). She was later re-elected in 2015, running simultaneously with the Democratic, Republican, Conservative, Independence, and Reform party lines, under New York's fusion electoral system.[10] Cacace led the county's sex crimes court for nearly fourteen years.[11]
In 2023, Cacace retired from the Westchester County Court to run for Westchester County District Attorney[12] after incumbent Mimi Rocah announced she would not seek re-election.[13] After winning the Democratic Party nomination, Cacace beat Republican candidate John Sarcone in November 2024.[14]