Gary L. Sharpe

Gary Lawrence Sharpe (January 1, 1947 – February 12, 2024) was an American lawyer who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York.

Education and career Sharpe graduated from the University at Buffalo with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971 and Cornell Law School with a Juris Doctor in 1974. He served as a senior assistant district attorney for Broome County, New York, from 1974 to 1981. He served as a special assistant attorney general for New York State, from 1981 to 1982. He served as an adjunct professor at Binghamton University and Broome Community College, from 1978 to 1982. He served as an assistant United States attorney, from 1982 to 1997, serving as a supervisory assistant United States attorney, from 1982 to 1992, interim United States attorney, from 1992 to 1994, and senior litigation counsel, from 1994 to 1997. He served as a United States magistrate judge for the Northern District of New York, from 1997 to 2004.

Federal judicial service On April 28, 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Sharpe to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, to a seat vacated by Judge Thomas James McAvoy. He was confirmed by the Senate on January 28, 2004, and received his commission on January 29, 2004. He served as chief judge from December 16, 2011, until August 31, 2015. He assumed senior status on January 1, 2016.