WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2005
D.A. BROWN: FOURTEEN ST. JOHN’S LAW STUDENTS SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN 2005 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROSECUTION CLINIC
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown today announced that fourteen third-year law students from St. John’s University School of Law have been selected to participate in this year’s Domestic Violence Prosecution Clinic at the District Attorney’s Office.
District Attorney Brown said, “By participating in our office’s domestic violence clinic, the students will not only have an opportunity to learn firsthand about the inner workings of the criminal justice system but will also help to build the strongest possible cases against abusive offenders in order to stop the cycle of violence against their victims. The program, now in its tenth year, has proven highly successful and many of the students who have participated have gone on to full-time positions as prosecutors with the office.”
The District Attorney’s Domestic Violence Bureau is nationally recognized as one of the most effective bureaus in the country in prosecuting abusers and in assisting victims of domestic violence. Staffed by a dedicated team of specialized prosecutors and trained counselors, the Bureau has pioneered many innovative procedures in the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence cases. In 2004, according to the New York State Office of Court Administration, Queens County had the highest number of domestic violence convictions in the City of New York and the lowest dismissal rate. The current conviction rate for the Bureau’s felony domestic violence prosecutions is 94 percent.
The Prosecution Clinic consists of approximately fourteen hours a week of office and court work, as well as weekly seminars at the law school. Students work closely with each of their supervisors in the investigation, preparation and prosecution of criminal cases. The students' work may include, for example, speaking to victims and attending court proceedings – including pre-trial conferences, sentencing proceedings and trials.
The students participating in this year’s clinic are: Daniel Biegleman, Andrea Clarke, Lauren DiChiara, Chris Geier, Rosemarie Iaconis, Antara Kanath, Allen Levine, Jaime Moran, Lauren Nickerson, David Pilato, Kerry Rowe, Michael Schindhelm, Stephanie Tebbett, and Andrew Wenzel.
Each student will report to, assist and work under the supervision of an Assistant District Attorney in the District Attorney’s Domestic Violence Bureau, which is supervised by Assistant District Attorneys Scott E. Kessler, Bureau Chief, Madeline Singas, Deputy Bureau Chief, and Robert J. Ferino, Supervisor.