Michael Anthony Telesca
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1982 and confirmed by voice vote, Michael Anthony Telesca was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. He earned a law degree from University of Buffalo Law School in 1955. Rulings & record ↓ Sources ↓
- Lived
- 1929–2020
- Appointed by
- Ronald Reagan, 1982
- Confirmed
- by voice vote
- Education
- University of Rochester 1952 · University of Buffalo Law School 1955
- Succeeded
- Harold P. Burke
- Succeeded by
- Charles J. Siragusa
Federal judicial service
| Year | Court | Appointed by | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Western District of New York succeeded Harold P. Burke | Reagan (R) | Voice vote |
Party letters show the appointing president’s party, not the judge’s own. A voice vote means the chamber approved aloud. No senator-by-senator tally is recorded.
Confirmation vote
Voice vote
The Senate approved this confirmation aloud, with no senator-by-senator tally recorded. Recorded roll-call votes begin in 1989.
Education
| University of Rochester | B.A. | 1952 |
| University of Buffalo Law School | LL.B. | 1955 |
Judicial Record
Caseload & case types
In our data, Telesca was assigned 5,355 district-court cases (1975–2019). Median time from filing to termination: 363 days across 5,355 closed cases.
Case assignment is from CourtListener’s PACER-derived docket records: a partial sample, not a complete caseload, reflecting the judge last assigned each case. How we count.
On appeal
Of 264 of Telesca’s decisions reviewed on the merits by the U.S. courts of appeals in our data, 210 were affirmed, 35 reversed or vacated, and 19 affirmed in part and reversed in part. This is a historical count of appellate outcomes for cases we could match, not a judgment of the judge, and not a complete record. How we count.
In our data, Telesca authored 196 published opinions for the court (1982–2011). Most cited: Allen v. Heckler (46 citations).
A selective record from published opinions in the CourtListener corpus, not every ruling; most unpublished district orders are not included. Counts and rankings are objective and recomputable: how we count. We describe the record, not the judge.
Recent & notable rulings
| Year | Case | Citation | Cited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Allen v. Heckler | 588 F. Supp. 1247 | 46 |
| 1999 | Xerox Corp. v. 3Com Corp. | 69 F. Supp. 2d 404 | 29 |
| 1985 | United States v. Whitney | 602 F. Supp. 722 | 27 |
| 1993 | Klos v. Haskell | 835 F. Supp. 710 | 26 |
| 1987 | Barbetta v. Chemlawn Services Corp. | 669 F. Supp. 569 | 26 |
| 2009 | Christian v. Town of Riga | 649 F. Supp. 2d 84 | 25 |
| 2006 | Klimbach v. Spherion Corp. | 467 F. Supp. 2d 323 | 23 |
| 1988 | Haile v. New York State Higher Education Services Corp. | 90 B.R. 51 | 23 |
| 1990 | Loria v. Town of Irondequoit | 775 F. Supp. 599 | 22 |
| 1985 | Coleman v. Corning Glass Works | 619 F. Supp. 950 | 22 |
| 1992 | Estate of Baratt v. Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance | 787 F. Supp. 333 | 21 |
| 1990 | Securities & Exchange Commission v. Thomas James Associates, Inc. | 738 F. Supp. 88 | 21 |
| 1990 | Soucie v. County of Monroe | 736 F. Supp. 33 | 21 |
| 1984 | Friends of the Earth v. Facet Enterprises, Inc. | 618 F. Supp. 532 | 18 |
| 2007 | Velazquez v. Barnhart | 518 F. Supp. 2d 520 | 17 |
Showing the 15 most-cited of 196 authored opinions in our data. “Cited” is inbound citations across the CourtListener corpus. Case links open the ruling’s full text (CourtListener) or its page here; read the methodology and verify against the primary source.
Questions & answers
- Who appointed Michael Anthony Telesca?
- President Ronald Reagan appointed Michael Anthony Telesca to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York in 1982.
- Was Michael Anthony Telesca appointed by a Democrat or a Republican?
- Michael Anthony Telesca was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican. JudicialFinder records the appointing president's party, not a judge's own politics.
- What was Michael Anthony Telesca's confirmation vote?
- Michael Anthony Telesca was confirmed by voice vote on April 20, 1982. No senator-by-senator tally was recorded.
- Which court was Michael Anthony Telesca on?
- Michael Anthony Telesca was a Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.
Sources
Each fact on this page traces to a primary public record.
- FJC Biographical Directory
- Wikidata
- CourtListener bulk data (Free Law Project): authored opinions & citation counts
How we source & reconcile data → Data & Sources
See something wrong? Report an error. Fixes are logged in the corrections log.
37 years on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. Data as of 2026-08-10. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).