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State Supreme Court Judge Elma Bellini has died

A well known local judge has died. Elma Bellini, a State Supreme Court Justice who began her career as a jurist in 2000 when she was first appointed as a judge, has died after a battle with cancer at the age of 63.

Bellini was elected to her current position at a State Supreme Court Justice in 2009 for the 7th judicial district. Her term would have gone until 2022.

A statement released by Administrative Judge Craig Doran says that the judicial community is deeply saddened by the loss of Bellini, and says that the community has lost a fierce, extraordinarily competent and compassionate defender of justice.

Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo issued a statement which said that from the early days of Bellini’s career as an Assistant Public Defender to her “stellar tenure” as a County Court Judge and then a Supreme Court Justice, Bellini was deeply committed to justice and public service. 

In Judge Bellini's honor, Dinolfo will be ordering flags to fly at half-staff at all Monroe County facilities on Monday.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Before retiring in March 2025, Randy Gorbman was WXXI's director of news and public affairs and managed the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.