Summer Days at the DA

By: Giulia Lucia Buscaglia JD ‘25

This summer, I worked at the Erie County District Attorney’s Office. I have lived in Buffalo, New York for my entire life, and spending my first summer of law school making a difference in the community that I know and love was rewarding. The University at Buffalo School of Law Summer Public Interest Funding & Fellowship Program made it financially possible for me to work in this position.

Summer Interns at the District Attorney’s Office are typically assigned to one bureau. For example, felony trials, homicide, and narcotics are all bureaus which Summer Interns are assigned. I had the pleasure of working in both the Special Victims/Domestic Violence Bureau and Buffalo City Court. Both were incredibly valuable to my professional development and experience.

Buffalo City Court prosecutes misdemeanors and violations. A high number of cases come through the door daily, and the Assistant District Attorneys work diligently to represent the People of the State of New York. I went with the attorneys to arraignments and felony hearings. During arraignments, I went to court with Assistant District Attorneys and helped fill out discovery requests. During felony hearings, the court decides whether there is reasonable cause that a felony occurred, and that the defendant may have committed the crime. After this, Erie County gains jurisdiction of the felony case. It was valuable to observe the Assistant District Attorneys during felony hearings because I learned great advocacy skills from them.

The Special Victims/Domestic Violence Bureau prosecutes domestic violence, crimes against children, rape, and sexual assault cases in Erie County. I observed several trials and hearings, assisted with discovery, and conducted legal research. In one case, an Assistant District Attorney was able to add several charges to an indictment based on my discovery findings. 

It is with sincere gratitude that I thank the donor for my 2023 Summer Fellowship, Dennis C. Vacco. Mr. Vacco is a former New York State Attorney General and partner at Lippes Mathias LLP. He is an incredibly accomplished attorney and even argued in front of the Supreme Court of the United States. He won this case unanimously.

I had a meeting with Mr. Vacco to talk about my career aspirations and law school. It meant so much that he took the time to get to know me and I look forward to staying in contact with him. To call myself a Dennis C. Vacco Summer Fellow is a true honor. I cannot thank him enough for making this summer possible.

Name: Giulia Lucia Buscaglia ’25

Fellowship: Hon. Dennis C. Vacco ’78 Summer Fellowship

Placement: Erie County District Attorney’s Office

Location: Buffalo, New York

One important lesson I have learned from this fellowship: “There is a common belief that a prosecutor’s only goal is to incarcerate people for the maximum amount of time. That is not true. While it is important that criminal defendants are punished for the crimes that they commit, prosecutors work tirelessly to balance the interests of the People with the interests of the defendants. The Erie County District Attorney’s Office represents the People, while offering numerous programs that help rehabilitate defendants.”