WNE Law Professor Tina Cafaro Confirmed as Associate Justice of the District Court

SPRINGFIELD — Western New England University (WNE) School of Law announced that Professor Tina Cafaro was unanimously confirmed to serve as associate justice of the District Court.

“I am deeply humbled and honored by my appointment,” said Cafaro. “I have enjoyed every minute of the past two decades working at WNE School of Law. My colleagues are talented and skilled educators, and our student body is made up of engaged, bright, and committed students who constantly make WNE and the legal profession proud. I am blessed to have been a part of each one of their lives. I am excited to take on a new role in the justice system, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds.”

Cafaro began her legal career in 1995 as a clerk for the Hon. Justice Kent Smith of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. She then joined the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office as an assistant district attorney in 1996. Since 2001, she has been a clinical professor of Law and director of Criminal Law Clinics at the Western New England University School of Law. In this role, she instructs students in both prosecution and defense clinics, and has served as a special assistant district attorney for the Hampden District Attorney’s Office. She has been an instructor for the Massachusetts Police Training Committee, the Massachusetts State Police, and the Massachusetts Trial Court Academies since 1999.

Cafaro has been a member of the Hampden County Bar Assoc. education committee since 2015 and is active in her community. She has been a basketball and lacrosse coach with the East Longmeadow Youth Sports Program for nearly two decades, and previously served on the East Longmeadow Basketball Assoc. board of directors. She received her bachelor’s degree from UMass Amherst in 1992 and her juris doctorate from Western New England University School of Law in 1995.

“Although we will miss her very much once she ascends to the bench, we collectively take pride in her accomplishment and look forward to the wisdom, integrity, and thoughtfulness that she will bring to the bench,” said Law School Dean Sudha Setty in an announcement to the WNE community.

The District Court hears a wide range of criminal, civil, housing, juvenile, mental-health, and other types of cases. District Court criminal jurisdiction extends to all felonies punishable by a sentence up to five years and many other specific felonies with greater potential penalties, as well as all misdemeanors and all violations of city and town ordinances and bylaws. The District Court is located in 62 courts across the Commonwealth.