DISTRICT ATTORNEY BROWN APPOINTS 22 NEW ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today the appointment of 22 recent law school graduates as Assistant District Attorneys. The new prosecutors were sworn in today at a ceremony in the District Attorney's Office.

District Attorney Brown said, "The young men & women sworn in today as prosecutors were selected after a nationwide recruitment program that I established soon after I became the District Attorney, seven years ago. They are bright young professionals from some of the nation's finest law schools who have elected to enter public service. I am proud to appoint them to serve the people of Queens County. I know that they will serve with distinction".

The Class of 1998 is composed of graduates of 16 different law schools. The new assistants will begin their prosecutorial careers with an intensive month long training course supervised by Executive Assistant District Attorney Andrew L. Zwerling and led by Assistant District Attorney Steven L. Schwartz, Director of Trial Advocacy.

Over the next several weeks, the new prosecutors will improve their knowledge of the law and enhance their trial advocacy skills through lectures, courtroom observation and mock hearings. They will also receive practical, hands-on experience by going out on patrol with police officers, participating in simulations at the New York Police Department's Tactics House and studying firearms at the Police Department's outdoor firing range. The course also includes visits to correctional and alternative sentencing facilities.

After completing their initial training, the Class of 1998, which consists of 8 men and 14 women and includes 6 minority members, will commence a carefully structured multi-year program designed to guarantee expertise in all areas of a prosecution. Initially, they will be assigned to the Intake, Criminal Court, Felony Waiver and Family Court Bureaus. Thereafter, they will work in the Appeals, Grand Jury and Homicide Investigations Bureaus. Finally, after about two years, they will enter an intensive trial training program prior to being assigned to the Supreme Court Trial Bureau.

The new prosecutors and the law schools from which they graduated are: Donna Aldea, St. John's; Marybeth Ayres, George Washington; Michelle Blackman, Hofstra; Rachel Buchter, St. John's; Steven Chang, Pittsburgh; Kristin Coccaro, Brooklyn; Anthony Della Croce, Brooklyn; Daniel Derechin, Georgetown; Cynthia Ferencz, Brooklyn; Kristen Gizzi, Brooklyn, Manuel Jimenez, Fordham; John Lee, St. John's; Mary Lowenburg, Temple; Kristen Marcelle, George Washington; Sean McNicholas, St. John's; Shlomit Metz, Hofstra; Jennifer Norris, New York; Kimara Patton, Boston College; Erica Rosengarten, Cardozo; Daniel Schorr, Harvard; Gabriel Tapalaga, Pace; Lourdes Ventura, Buffalo.