Judge Vito C. Caruso: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

The Hon. Vito C. Caruso is a Justice of the Schenectady County Supreme Court in the Fourth Judicial District of New York. He was first elected to the Supreme Court bench in 1995 and was subsequently re-elected to the seat in 2009.

During his tenure on the Supreme Court, Justice Caruso was appointed to serve as the Administrative Judge for the Fourth Judicial District in 2004 by the Hon. Jonathan Lippman, former Chief Administrative Judge of the State of New York. Justice Caruso held the position until 2019, when he was then appointed by Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks to serve as the Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Courts Outside of New York City. In this position, Justice Caruso is tasked with overseeing and managing all trial-level courts in the 57 counties outside of New York City. This also includes collaborating with local Administrative Judges to help manage the day-to-day operation of the courts. As the Deputy Chief Administrative Judge, Justice Caruso is also responsible for the local Town and Village Courts. At the time of his appointment to the position, he succeeded the Hon. Michael V. Coccoma.

He graduated with his B.A. in political science and economics from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 1971.

Justice Caruso holds the unique distinction of being one of the last lawyers certified and admitted to practice law after reading for the New York Bar. Prior to this, he had served as a law clerk to Assemblyman Clark C. Wemple from 1973 until being admitted to the State Bar in 1977.

Before his election to the Supreme Court in 1995, Caruso’s legal career included serving as an assistant county attorney in Schenectady County, as counsel to the Minority of the New York State Assembly, as counsel for the Town of Duanesburg, New York, and was also a principal at the law firm Wemple and Caruso.

His memberships have included the Judicial Section of the New York State Bar Association, the Order of the Sons of Italy, and the Rotterdam Knights of Columbus. Caruso was the past director of the Schenectady County Bar Association and the past district deputy of the New York State Elks Association. He was also a charter member and president of the New York State Greater Capital District Italian American Bar Association, and he served on the Board of Trustees of the Schenectady County Community College.

In 2018, Justice Caruso received the Hon. Anthony V. Cardona Award for Judicial Excellence from the Italian American Bar Association. He also holds the distinction of being the first recipient of the Pro Bono Distinguished Service Award of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York.

He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. At the time of his appointment to Deputy Chief Administrative Judge, Justice Caruso resided in Rotterdam, New York, where he served as Eucharistic Minister at the St. Gabriel’s Roman Catholic Church.

Justice Caruso was a former volunteer firefighter with the Rotterdam District 2 Fire Company.