Mark W. Pedersen named magistrate judge

Mark W. Pedersen has been appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

Pedersen currently serves as principal law clerk to Sr. District Court Judge Charles J. Siragusa. Pederson fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Magistrate Judge Jonathan W. Feldman, effective Nov. 5, 2019.

Pedersen will be sworn in and hold court at the Kenneth B. Keating Courthouse.

In 1979, Pedersen graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in international relations. In 1982 he graduated received his juris doctor degree from SUNY Buffalo Law School.

Pedersen served in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1982 to 2013. From 1986 to 1997 he was an assistant Monroe County District Attorney.

Since 1997, Pederson has served the Western District. He also served as a judge for the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals in Washington, D.C. Pedersen retired from the Navy as a captain in 2013.

Pedersen is an active member of the Monroe County Bar Association where he has served as dean of the Academy of Law and participated in the presentation of many continuing legal education programs.

He continues to serve as an adjunct instructor at the Rochester campus of Medaille College.

The District judges appointed the selection committee that screened the applications for the vacancy. The committee was chaired by retired Monroe County Court Judge Patricia D. Marks. The committee recommended five names.