THEIR LIFE'S WORK
The Job Is Justice
Gregory McCaffrey '98 dispenses justice as a district attorney in rural upstate New York.
by Julia Smith '20
鈥淭he job of a district attorney is to make sure that justice is done,鈥 says Livingston County District Attorney Gregory J. McCaffrey '98. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about winning every case, or getting the maximum sentence possible. It鈥檚 about making sure that people鈥檚 rights are protected and that justice is done to the best we can.鈥
McCaffrey鈥攁 political science major with a J.D. from the University at Buffalo SUNY School of Law鈥攂egan his career working in local court as an assistant district attorney with Monroe County. 鈥淢y second day as a prosecutor in Monroe County I had to go to Henrietta Town Court where there were 180 cases.鈥 He eventually worked his way up to the Major Crime Bureau and Gun Bureau, and has now served as the Livingston County D.A. for six years.
He takes the job seriously. From homicides to white collar crime, 鈥渆very single felony case in my county comes to me for review,鈥 McCaffrey says, adding that the county has 300 to 400 felonies a year. 鈥淎s an elected D.A. in a small county, I actually have a heavy caseload. Major counties have 80 to 100 assistant district attorneys鈥擨 have five.鈥 His rural county office 鈥渋s a small team but we have a pretty important function. Ultimately, whatever happens good or bad, reflects most heavily on me in this office.鈥
McCaffrey enjoys the variety each day that his office brings. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the unknown. Every case presents unique and new facts. I get the chance to work on everything: violent crimes, sex crimes, white collar crimes, traffic crimes 鈥 Fifty percent of the time I have a plan and I don鈥檛 end up doing any of it because something comes up. I鈥檓 constantly learning and doing something new. Any job you have where you want to come to work is a great job.鈥
That being said, McCaffrey鈥檚 responsibilities force him to cope with a more brutal side of humanity. In fact, given his county鈥檚 rural setting and small population, it is not uncommon for him to visit specific crime scenes, such as fatal car accidents or gory murders. 鈥淚 recently did a trial in which a Rochester woman鈥檚 son was killed by his girlfriend,鈥 McCaffrey says. 鈥淓ven though we were successful in getting a guilty verdict, it was difficult to reassure her because the thought of her son鈥檚 killer going free when her son wasn鈥檛 coming back is emotional.鈥
Since beginning his career, McCaffrey has learned that it鈥檚 impossible to please everyone. 鈥淒efense attorneys aren鈥檛 usually happy with prosecutors because they have to advocate for their clients,鈥 McCaffrey says. 鈥淭he police typically want a harsher sentence or the perfect arrest, but no arrest is perfect. Victims are rarely completely happy because they might have wanted more, or quite frequently in domestic violence cases, they wanted less.鈥 As a father, McCaffrey finds any case involving children to be particularly tough, especially when it comes to child sex cases. Under such circumstances, his successes become even more meaningful. McCaffrey has child victims 鈥渨ho come back years later who are graduating high school or going to law school. Any of those success stories are great.鈥
McCaffrey focuses on how important his work is to his community. 鈥淲hat I see every day is a really big deal to the person it happens to, and I keep that perspective with me every day,鈥 he notes. 鈥淲hether someone gets a traffic ticket, or gets arrested, or is a victim of a crime鈥攖hat鈥檚 probably one of the most poignant moments that will, significantly or insignificantly, impact the rest of their life.
鈥淓very day you do what鈥檚 right, you do what鈥檚 just, and you do what鈥檚 fair. That makes the job easy.鈥
Julia Smith '20 is a communication and media major at Nazareth.