Alumna confirmed as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York

Trini Ross, a SUNY Fredonia alumna of the Class of 1988, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by voice vote late Thursday night (Sept. 30) to a four-year term as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York.

As reported by the Buffalo News, Ms. Ross is now the top federal prosecutor for the Western District, which includes the 17 westernmost counties, and handles federal criminal and civil cases.

She is the first African-American woman to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York.

Ms. Ross was nominated by President Joseph Biden in July following the recommendation of Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, who released the following statement:

“Trini Ross’s swift confirmation echoes everything that has been said about her since I recommended her earlier this year. She is a compassionate, brilliant attorney and the Western District of New York is in good hands with her at the helm. As I have said many times, Trini is a consummate Western New Yorker whose roots here go all the way back to Hutch Tech. She knows what it means to live in this community as a woman of color, the first ever in this role, and she knows exactly what this community needs from its United States Attorney. I wish her all the best.” 

Ms. Ross has served as the Director of Investigations, Legal Division, with the National Science Foundation’s Office of Inspector General since 2018. She has also been an adjunct professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law since 2006. From 1995 to 2018, Ms. Ross was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of New York, where she served as the Senior Litigation Counsel and the Chief of the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Section from 2012 to 2017. She also served as an Assistant Counsel with the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility from 2007 to 2009. Ms. Ross was previously a civil litigation associate at Hiscock & Barclay, LLC from 1994 to 1995, and served as an Appellate Court Attorney for the New York State Supreme Court from 1992 to 1994. Ms. Ross received her J.D., cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law in 1992, her M.A. from Rutgers University in 1990, and her B.A. in Sociology from SUNY Fredonia in 1988.