Former Judge Leticia Astacio Reveals Hostile Work Environment & Discrimination Claims
- Teo Drinkovic
- Jul 3
- 2 min read
Leticia Astacio: The Rochester Judge Whose Fall From the Bench Became a Fight Over Justice and Race
For many New Yorkers, the name Leticia Astacio is associated with one of the most controversial judicial scandals to emerge from Rochester in recent years. But before she became a former judge, Astacio had built an impressive legal career and made history on the Rochester City Court bench.
Born in Rochester, Astacio attended Monroe Community College and the University at Buffalo, where she earned undergraduate, law, and social work degrees. After graduating from law school, she worked at the Monroe County Legal Assistance Center before joining the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office. She served in the Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Bureau and later worked in the DWI Bureau. In 2011, she opened her own private practice focusing on criminal and family law.
In 2014, Astacio defeated two other candidates in a Democratic primary for Rochester City Court judge and was elected that November. She took office in January 2015, becoming the first Latina to serve as a Rochester City Court judge.
Her judicial career, however, was dramatically derailed after her February 2016 arrest for driving while intoxicated. Astacio was convicted of misdemeanor DWI and received a conditional discharge. The case then became far more complicated. Authorities said she violated conditions of that sentence, including restrictions involving alcohol and an ignition-interlock device. She was ultimately sentenced to 60 days in jail after additional violations.
The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct also found misconduct connected to her behavior both on and off the bench. Among the allegations were invoking her judicial position during her arrest, failing to disqualify herself from a case involving a former client, and making inappropriate comments while presiding over cases. In October 2018, New York’s highest court upheld her removal from office.
Today, Astacio is practicing law again in Rochester. Current attorney directories list her as a New York-licensed criminal defense lawyer with her own law office, where she handles criminal defense and DWI-related matters.
But Astacio's story is not finished.
In the video accompanying this article, she discusses another side of her experience inside Rochester's courthouse. Astacio says that after her DWI case became public, she was excluded from secure entrances, forced to use back entrances, and required to stand in lines alongside defendants. She argues that other colleagues and attorneys facing similar proceedings were not treated the same way.
Astacio describes the experience as a hostile work environment and raises the possibility that race played a role in how she was treated. Her allegations raise broader questions about fairness, institutional culture, and whether everyone inside New York's justice system is truly treated equally.
For Rochester, her story remains complicated: a historic rise, a spectacular fall, and now a continuing argument over what justice looks like from the other side of the courtroom.
Feel free to comment! 👍