(a) Upon filing of the indictment or information, each criminal case is assigned to
a Judge in either Buffalo (typically, cases arising in Allegany, Cattaraugus,
Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming counties), or
Rochester (typically, cases arising in Chemung, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario,
Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates counties). The assignment
within these areas shall ordinarily be by random selection. The Court may
transfer cases among Judges and/or within the District, sua sponte. Parties
requesting transfer of a case from Buffalo to Rochester, or vice versa, shall file
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a written motion requesting such relief, returnable before the Judge to whom
the case is originally assigned.
(b) When a criminal case is related to one or more pending criminal cases, the
United States Attorney’s Office shall so indicate upon the filing of the
indictment, information, or criminal complaint, on the Criminal Case Related
Form. A criminal case shall be presumed to be related to another case when:
(1) the facts of each arise out of the same charged criminal scheme(s),
transaction(s), or event(s), even if the cases involve different defendants; (2)
the same criminal conduct is charged in an indictment and a violation of
probation or supervised release; (3) a district judge has previously handled
some aspect of the case at the criminal complaint stage, such as through an
appeal from a bail determination by a magistrate judge or review of a report
and recommendation concerning competency; or (4) the criminal case is related
to a pending civil forfeiture case. However, for purposes of this rule, a case is
not presumptively related to prior wiretap applications, motions in connection
with grand jury proceedings, or search warrant applications.
