Elena C. Vaida, born Somerset, New Jersey, March 19, 1953; admitted to bar, 1980, New York, U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York and U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. Education: Kent State University and Harpur College (B.A., 1975); Albany Law School of Union University (J.D., 1979).

Speaker/Teacher: "Criminal Procedure - Trials" for the New York State Office of Court Administration’s Spring & Fall Judges Certification Program since 1995; Co-Chair for the New York State Bar Association’s Program: "United States Sentencing Guidelines" (May 1998); Speaker for the New York State Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Programs: "Departures"(May 1998); "Sentencing" (November 1996); "Juries, Grand and Petit" (May 1996); "Handling Cases in Local Criminal Court" (March 1996); "Direct Examination and Objections" (1995); "Examination of the Fingerprint Expert" (1992) and "Objections" (1990). Member: Albany County and New York State Bar Associations; National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; New York State Defenders Association; Capital District Trial Lawyers Association.

• She is a Certified Capital Defense Counsel for the Third Judicial Department
• Certified Court Evaluator

Reported Cases: U.S. v. Cassiliano, 137 F.3d 742 (2nd Cir. 1998); U.S. v. Villegas, 899 F.2d 1324 (2nd Cir. 1990); U.S. v. Lilla, 534 F.Supp. 1247 (N.D.N.Y. 1982); Alexander v. New York State Bd. of Parole, 175 A.D.2d 526, (3rd Dept. 1991); People v. Rizzo, 126 A.D.2d 909, (3rd Dept. 1987); People ex rel. Ryan v. Infante, 108 A.D.2d 987, (3rd Dept. 1985); People v. Blanchard, 105 A.D.2d 492, (3rd Dept. 1984).