LOOK WHO'S GETTING CITED

2012 Citation Winners

Jonathan A. Darche, Esq.
Assistant District Attorney, Queens County District Attorney's Office
In addition to his duties as an assistant district attorney in the Narcotics Investigations Bureau of the Queens County District Attorney's office, for the past five years, Jonathan has volunteered his time to the Youth Court of Queens County. The Youth Court is an innovative program that helps two different sets of young people in Queens County. The program takes gifted and motivated high school students and gives them comprehensive instruction in legal theory and practical courtroom skills by working with legal practitioners. Once they have "graduated," the student-lawyers are assigned cases involving children diverted from family court. These "defendants" are represented by student lawyers who are advised by attorneys donating their time, but when the trial occurs, the student-lawyers are on their own. From case to case, the student-lawyers switch roles from prosecutor, to defense attorney, to judge. Most importantly, the student-lawyers often serve as role models for the "defendants." It is always a proud moment when a former defendant enrolls in the program to become a "student-lawyer." Jonathan serves as instructor to the students when they are getting their initial training and advises student lawyers during their cases. In addition to his work with the Youth Court, Jonathan also participates in STARTrack, an outreach program dedicated to educating at risk youths about the risks of gun violence.

Karen J. Freedman, Esq.
Executive Director, Lawyers For Children
Karen J. Freedman is the founder and Executive Director of Lawyers For Children Inc. Since founding LFC 28 years ago, Ms. Freedman has created several projects at LFC to serve particularly vulnerable young people in the foster care system. These include initiatives on behalf of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Questioning youth, young people who have been sexually abused, children living in homes where domestic violence is present, youth aging out of foster care, youth in care who suffer from mental illnesses, young people in foster care who require specialized educational advocacy, and immigrant youth in foster care. In addition, LFC has participated in several important class action cases on behalf of youth in foster care and maintains a division of LFC devoted exclusively to impact litigation and child welfare policy. Before establishing LFC, Ms. Freedman was a staff attorney with the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society and a Law Clerk in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Ms. Freedman received her BA from Wesleyan University and her JD from New York University School of Law where she was a Root Tilden Scholar and a Hays Civil Liberties Fellow.