NEWS

A Delaware legal giant, Vincent Bifferato, has died

Sean O’Sullivan
The News Journal

The Delaware legal community is mourning the loss of former Superior Court Judge Vincent A. Bifferato Sr., whose long legal career and outsized personality cast a long shadow on the courts and members of the bench and bar.

Bifferato, 77, died Friday following a long battle with esophageal cancer. He served on the Superior Court from 1968 until 2000, acting as New Castle County

Superior Court Judge Vincent A. Bifferato Sr. is shown at his desk in this News Journal photo from May 1971.

resident judge during his final eight years on the court. After leaving the courts, Bifferato, a former member of the Delaware Legislature, returned to private practice with his sons.

"Judge Bifferato was a giant in our legal community," said Delaware public defender Brendan O'Neill, who appeared many times before Bifferato as a trial attorney. "He was very smart, very direct, fair to all sides ... and he left a great legacy in our courthouse. And he was a great guy."

"Everyone respected and admired him," said Superior Court Judge Ferris Wharton, who also appeared before Bifferato – or Judge Biff as many called him – many times as an attorney.

Part of that, said longtime Wilmington attorney Joe Hurley, was Bifferato's voice. "He had a very attention-grabbing voice. It had that ring of authority in it without being dictatorial," he said, adding Bifferato rarely raised that authoritative voice and was almost always cool and calm on the bench.

Wharton praised the way Bifferato cut pomp and ceremony to attack problems in a direct and practical way "without putting on airs."

Courtesy of  Vincent Bifferato's family.

"He was a really human type of judge. He wasn't unapproachable," Wharton said, adding Bifferato commanded respect without being overbearing about it.

But that is not to say he did not demand a certain level of professionalism and decorum in his court. O'Neill said there was one time, when he was a young attorney, that he remained seated when he made an objection.

Bifferato then turned to the jury and told jurors he had a "hearing defect" where he could not hear attorneys speaking in his courtroom unless they were standing, O'Neill recalled.

Message received, O'Neill said he jumped to his feet and re-stated his objection, and Bifferato sustained it.

Deputy Attorney General Steve Wood said he saw the same thing once when an attorney showed up in court wearing topsiders. When the man spoke, Bifferato told him about his hearing defect where he could not hear lawyers "who wear shoes like that in my courtroom."

"He was born to be a judge," Wood said of Bifferato.

"Justice ran through his veins," said retired Delaware prosecutor Jim Rambo.

"To this day, he is one of my favorite judges ever," said state prosecutor Kathleen Jennings. "He had an unerring sense of right and wrong."

Superior Court Judge Jerome O. Herlihy, who recently retired from full-time work as a judge, said Bifferato was one of his mentors and one of the largest influences on him in how he conducted himself as a judge and controlled his courtroom.

Herlihy said during his 25 years on the bench, he often turned to other judges for advice and opinions, but Bifferato was always his first call.

"I always had the highest respect for him; he ran a nice courtroom ... a great sense of humor, he was a giant among us," Herlihy said, adding Bifferato could make his feelings known from the bench – usually through a scowl – without ever saying a word.

Vincent Bifferato. October 18, 2004

"He never took himself too seriously," Herlihy said, adding the news of Bifferato's death on Friday came as a bit of a shock.

"I knew he had been struggling for a long time," Herlihy said, but added he had heard that recently, Bifferato's health had been improving, that he had been putting weight on and was back in good spirits.

"I counted him as a good, close friend. He always said I was a closet Democrat, and I said, 'You are a closet Republican,' " Herlihy said, adding Bifferato "loved to banter."

"He was a dedicated family man," said attorney and friend Victor Battaglia Sr. He was devoted to his wife, loved his kids and adored his grandchildren, Battaglia said.

Retired Superior Court Judge Richard Gebelein, who served on the bench with Bifferato and later went to work for Bifferato's law firm, said Bifferato was his closest friend on the court. "What I will miss most of all is being able to talk with him about anything and everything. It is hard to describe when you have a close personal friend like that. It is hard to accept they are not there. I will miss him terribly," he said.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Sunday Breakfast Mission or the Ministry of Caring's Emmanuel Dining Room.

Bifferato is survived by his wife, Marie, their three children and their spouses and six grandchildren. He also is survived by his sister, Mickey Ciuffetelli, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Arrangements are being handled by Doherty Funeral Homes.

Contact Sean O'Sullivan at (302) 324-2777 or sosullivan@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @SeanGOSullivan