• First court of record in Western New York was held in Canandaigua in 1789. The first cases presented to this court dealt with the theft of a cowbell.
• Asa Ransom, a Clarence tavern keeper and silversmith by trade, was the first justice of the peace in 1802 and served as the first Sheriff of Niagara County in 1808.
• The first indictment on record was filed on November 1808 which charged five men with stealing a cow in 1806.
• Ebenezer Walden was the first attorney in Erie County, 1806.
• In 1808, there were four practicing attorneys in Niagara County. Today, Bar members exceed 4,000 in the eight Western New York counties.
• Archibald S. Clarke was the first Surrogate Judge for Niagara County, appointed in 1808.
• Samuel Tupper served as Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Genesee County and later was appointed as Associate Judge for Niagara County Court in 1812.
• Herman B. Potter was the first District Attorney appointed for Erie County in 1818.
• Samuel Wilkinson was the first Erie County Court Judge, elected November 10, 1820.
• The current county courthouse is built on the site of Buffalo's second burial ground dating back to the War of 1812. The remains of the deceased were relocated to Forest Lawn in 1851.
• Charles Daniels served as Supreme Court Justice and founded the Buffalo Law School in 1887.
• The day following the death of Chief Judge Cuthbert W. Pound, all parts of Supreme Court in Buffalo were closed at noon and the two parts of County Court were closed all day in his memory.
• In 1955, Hamilton Ward III was shot at two days before he was to sentence more than 30 criminals. Four men fired a barrage of bullets into his car. The Judge was not hurt.
• Regis O'Brien was the first justice of the Eighth Judicial District to receive an extension by State Judicial Conference to continue beyond the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 1963.
• M. Dolores Denman was the third woman to serve as Buffalo City Court Judge and the first woman to serve as the Presiding Justice, Appellate Division, Fourth Department.
• Charles S. Desmond was the longest serving New York State Court of Appeals Judge with over 25 years of service.
• Michael F. Dillon served in the position of Presiding Justice for the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, longer than any other justice.
• William B. Lawless was the youngest Buffalo Common Council President at age 35.
• Ann T. Mikoll was the first woman on the New York State Supreme Court outside New York City.
• Thomas Noonan served for 41 years in judicial positions including City, County and Supreme Court and Supreme Court referee.
• Buffalo City Court has one chief and eleven associate judges who are elected to a term of ten years.
• The term "justice" generally describes judges serving on the highest court of a jurisdiction. It is a title given to certain judges such as those serving in federal or state supreme court. "Justice of the Peace" is a phrase originating in England and dating back to 1361 and the passing of the "Justice of the Peace Act". These justices are regarded as civil public officers and are an exception to the generally accepted usage of the term "justice".
• Daniel Webster said "A lawyer's fate is to work hard, live well, and die poor".

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