DA Hoovler Announces Hiring of Former Judge Stewart A. Rosenwasser as Special Counsel for Policy, Research and Legal Development

June 19, 2019

DA Hoovler Announces Hiring of Former
Judge Stewart A. Rosenwasser as
Special Counsel for Policy, Research and Legal Development

Will Aid in Implementing and Complying with Recently Enacted Criminal Justice Reforms

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced today that the Orange County District Attorney’s Office is hiring former County Court Judge and Acting Supreme Court Justice Stewart A. Rosenwasser as “Special Counsel for Policy, Research and Legal Development”. Mr. Rosenwasser’s duties will include running the District Attorney’s Office’s Conviction Integrity Unit, handling complex litigation, and ensuring that the Office is in full compliance with the mandates created by the recent “criminal justice reform” statutes that take effect on January 1, 2020. Mr. Rosenwasser will also be instrumental in developing Office policies and procedures, particularly as they relate to these new statutes.

The new statutes severely curtail the authority of judges to set bail in large categories of cases and provide criminal defendants with an expediated appellate review in those cases where the court has set bail conditions or has issued an order of protection on behalf of a crime victim. Mr. Rosenwasser’s responsibilities will include representing the District Attorney’s Office in appellate challenges on those cases.

Mr. Rosenwasser previously served as an Orange County Assistant District Attorney and his legal experience includes nearly four decades of private practice, as well as service as an Orange County Court Judge and Acting Supreme Court Justice for the 9th Judicial District. Mr. Rosenwasser currently serves as a Referee for the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct and as a Special Referee for the New York State Grievance Committee for the 9th Judicial District. He will resign from those positions when he joins the District Attorney’s Office.
“We are extremely fortunate to have Judge Rosenwasser joining our staff as we face the challenges of the brand new, and hastily enacted, legislation that will completely change New York’s criminal justice procedures,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “Stewart Rosenwasser’s experience as a Judge and Special Referee will be invaluable to the Office in our quest to ensure no one is wrongfully convicted and that our Office lives up to the highest ethical standards for prosecutors. The public good is surely advanced when a lawyer of Judge Rosenwasser’s caliber and ethical standards agrees to continue in public service. When Mr. Rosenwasser is advocating in the Appellate Division to preserve bail conditions and protective orders in cases involving violent offenders, both crime victims and the general public will be safer.”

“After 41 years of practicing law, it is an honor and a privilege to join District Attorney Hoovler’s staff. I look forward to bringing my experience to the challenges of implementing the newly enacted criminal justice legislation,” said Stewart A. Rosenwasser.

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