Northwestern District Attorney's Office

The Northwestern District Attorney's Office has an opening for a Victim Witness Advocate. Here is the link to the job posting which explains how to apply. Please share widely.

Employment Opportunities | Northwestern District Attorney DATE: JULY, 2024 POSITION TITLE: VICTIM ADVOCATE ABOUT THE OFFICE:The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office (NWDAO) serves the people of Hampshire and Franklin counties and the town of Athol.

The NWDA's Office and Children’s Advocacy Centers of Hampshire and Franklin counties and No. Quabbin urge everyone to recognize the unique hazards summer can bring. The DA's Child Fatality Review Team determined water, cars and windows pose preventable summertime dangers. A PSA campaign offers posters with tips for safer practices to place in community settings. They can be printed from the NWDA website. Printed copies available : https://www.northwesternda.org/contact-info/webforms/send-us-note
https://www.northwesternda.org/home/news/childrens-advocacy-centers-and-das-office-team-summertime-child-safety-effort

U. S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy makes call for warning label on social media platforms; urges other interventions in response to mental health crisis among youth.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/17/opinion/social-media-health-warning.html?unlocked_article_code=1.0U0.43QB.hA-RTzBQ0uCH&smid=url-share

In light of research on harmful effects of smartphone technology, some parents are taking action
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/09/style/sign-right-here-the-parents-pledging-to-keep-kids-phone-free.html?unlocked_article_code=1.zk0.BDi_.Sn05SidvIiAn&smid=url-share

Attorney General Andrea Campbell is putting out a call for young people to be part of her Youth Council . Application Deadline coming up. Details here.

A free community screening of the Frontline documentary “S*x Trafficking in America” will be offered at Greenfield Garden Cinema as part of a community education initiative undertaken by the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office in collaboration with the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Hampshire County and Franklin County/North Quabbin.
The documentary follows investigations into cases of human trafficking and features interviews with survivors of human trafficking as well as members of law enforcement.
The film screening will be followed by a live panel discussion including a survivor of human trafficking, staff members of the two Children’s Advocacy Centers and Northampton Police Captain of Operations Victor Caputo.
The event is set for Wednesday, May 29, from 6-8 p.m. at the Greenfield Garden Cinema, 361 Main St., Greenfield.

Local 2024 Law Day events are planned for next week in Greenfield on May 1 and Northampton on May 3. The American Bar Association's selected theme is Voices of Democracy. Local speakers will be Constitutional law scholar John Bonifaz, co-founder of Free Speech for People (www.freespeechforpeople.org) and Marisol Bonifaz, Amherst High School student, speaking on the theme Preserving Democracy. Members of the public are invited to either location. No need to register. The register now in the flyer refers to school groups.

FTC refunds consumers victimized by student loan forgiveness scams

FTC Sends More Than $4.1 Million in Refunds to People Who Lost Money to Student Loan Debt Relief Scheme The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $4.1 million in refunds to people who lost money to student loan debt relief scammers who lured consumers with fake loan forgiveness claims and poc

In recognition of its essential work to protect children in the region, the Northwestern District Attorney’s office has renamed a special unit created in 1987 to the Child Protection Unit.

“It’s a better name for what we do. We work to protect kids,” said Northwestern Assistant District Attorney and Child Protection Unit Chief Lori Odierna. “We protect them from current situations and future harm.”

The unit was formerly known as the Child Abuse Unit. Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan on Thursday acknowledged the name change in remarks at an event held in Hadley to mark Child Abuse Awareness month, held annually in April.

“This new name makes sense because prevention is so important to what we do,” said Sullivan. “Education and awareness about the dangers children face and a sense that protecting children is the responsibility of all of us is the only way we can truly protect children.”

In recognition of the unique nature and challenges posed by crimes against children, the NWDA’s Child Abuse Unit was created in 1987. The unit’s mission is to protect children by preventing abuse and neglect through awareness and education, and prosecuting crimes to hold offenders accountable.

ADAs and victim and family advocates in the unit receive special training to work with child victims using trauma-informed approaches. The unit works closely with law enforcement and the Children’s Advocacy Centers based in Greenfield and Northampton, which serve the entire Northwestern District. Working as multi-disciplinary teams, the collaboration with child protective organizations seeks to make traumatizing experiences less so, in order to set victims on a path towards healing.

In addition to prosecution of cases, the unit educates the community to prevent abuse offering training on mandated reporter requirements and conducting fatality reviews in all cases of child fatalities to recommend policy and practices that better protect children. These Child Fatality Review teams are mandated by state law for all district attorney’s offices in the state.

In 2023, the unit opened 359 cases involving 411 child victims, filed criminal charges against 144 defendants, and resolved 136 child abuse cases with either changes of pleas or trials.

Northwestern DA's office renames unit protecting children

In recognition of its essential work to protect children in the region, the Northwestern District Attorney’s office has renamed a special unit created in 1987 to the Child Protection Unit.

“It’s a better name for what we do. We work to protect kids,” said Northwestern Assistant District Attorney and Child Protection Unit Chief Lori Odierna. “We protect them from current situations and future harm.”

The unit was formerly known as the Child Abuse Unit. Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan on Thursday acknowledged the name change in remarks at an event held in Hadley to mark Child Abuse Awareness month, held annually in April.

“This new name makes sense because prevention is so important to what we do,” said Sullivan. “Education and awareness about the dangers children face and a sense that protecting children is the responsibility of all of us is the only way we can truly protect children.”

In recognition of the unique nature and challenges posed by crimes against children, the NWDA’s Child Abuse Unit was created in 1987. The unit’s mission is to protect children by preventing abuse and neglect through awareness and education, and prosecuting crimes to hold offenders accountable.

ADAs and victim and family advocates in the unit receive special training to work with child victims using trauma-informed approaches. The unit works closely with law enforcement and the Children’s Advocacy Centers based in Greenfield and Northampton, which serve the entire Northwestern District. Working as multi-disciplinary teams, the collaboration with child protective organizations seeks to make traumatizing experiences less so, in order to set victims on a path towards healing.

In addition to prosecution of cases, the unit educates the community to prevent abuse offering training on mandated reporter requirements and conducting fatality reviews in all cases of child fatalities to recommend policy and practices that better protect children. These Child Fatality Review teams are mandated by state law for all district attorney’s offices in the state.

In 2023, the unit opened 359 cases involving 411 child victims, filed criminal charges against 144 defendants, and resolved 136 child abuse cases with either changes of pleas or trials.

This event is open to schools groups and the general public. Help spread the word.

Spread the word.

In honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month, the Childrens Advocacy Centers of Hampshire and Franklin counties and the North Quabbin and the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office are teaming up to host flag-raising ceremonies, luminaria, and an open house at events in the region. This prevention month is held to acknowledge the vital role everyone in a community plays in working together to prevent child abuse and neglect. In addition to events in Northampton, Easthampton and Amherst on Monday, other local events are:
Wednesday April 3
•10:30 a.m., South Hadley Police Department, 41 Bridge St., flag-raising ceremony
Friday, April 5
•9 a.m., Athol YMCA, 545 Main St., Athol, performance, remarks, flag-raisingceremony
•10:30 a.m., Belchertown Town Hall, 2 Jabish St., Belchertown, flag-raisingceremony
•11 a.m., Greenfield Town Common, flag-raising ceremony; Followed by receptionand open house at the CAC, 56 Wisdom Way, noon-1
Monday, April 8
•1 p.m. Conway Town Common, flag-raising ceremony
Thursday, April 11
•9 a.m., Old library across from Hadley Town Hall, proclamation reading
•5:30 p.m., Luminaria Ceremony, Childs Park, Northampton

Looking ahead to April 2024 Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Save the date. List of participating police departments will be released soon.

An estimated 4 percent of American children are diagnosed with attention deficit disorders, while 1 in 4 children diagnosed with ADHD do not receive any treatment. Meanwhile, adult attention deficit diagnoses are rising 4 times faster than those in children. This documentary will present the latest thinking about this common condition.

Northwestern Assistant District attorneys Justine Aljoe and Aidan Lanciani participated in Western New England University’s Law School for A Day, which draws students from area high schools for a program that aims to give young people who are historically underrepresented in law school a chance to explore career opportunities in the legal field.

Northwestern District Attorney's Office victim witness and family service advocates and other NWDA staff took part in a training last week presented by the S*x Offender Registry Board’s Victim Service Unit Director Judy Norton and Victim Services Coordinator Jennifer Anderson. They talked about the importance of referring survivors and families to the board’s victim service unit after a conviction and outlined what the s*x offender classification process involves.

Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan last week joined Attorney General Andrea Campbell and UMass Javier Chancellor Reyes and UMass students last week at the UMass Digital Evidence Lab. The lab is a partnership involving DA’s office, the AG’s office and UMass.

Sharing icons in the legal profession in honor of Black History Month.

Pauli Murray's legal writings laid groundwork for outlawing discriminatory laws nationwide. A civil rights activist, lawyer and co-founder of the National Organization for Women, she fought for equity for women, communities of color, and the q***r community. She worked to end desegregation on public transportation and in 1940, was arrested for refusing to moving to the back of a bus. She graduated from Howard University Law School in 1944 and later earned a JSD from Yale Law School. She wrote a book on segregation laws that Thurgood Marshall termed the “bible for civil rights litigators,” and her arguments on gender, race and equality influenced both Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

George Lewis Ruffin became the first black person to graduate from Harvard Law School in 1869. He was also the first black person elected to serve on the Boston City Council and in the Massachusetts state legislature. In 1883, Ruffin became the first black judge in Massachusetts when he was appointed to the bench in Charlestown municipal court.

In honor of Black History Month, we share stories of leaders and icons in the legal field.

Jane Bolin (1908-2007), was a graduate of Yale Law School and the first black women to serve as a judge in the United States. In 1939, she was appointed to the Family Court of New York City, where she served for four decades, defending justice and equality for women and children from the bench. Bolin made many substantial changes to ensure that children of color could receive necessary public funds.

Robert Morris (1823-1882), born in Massachusetts, was a civil rights leader in Boston and the country’s second African American lawyer. He tried the first civil rights challenge to segregated schools in 1848 (Roberts v. Boston), a case later cited in 1896 in Plessy v. Ferguson. He advocated for integrated militias and public spaces, and supported equal rights for women. He represented alleged fugitive slaves and built a law practice with Irish immigrants constituting a significant portion of his client base. Morris practiced law in Boston with his son Robert Jr. until his death in December 1882.

Sharing more pet companions of the Northwestern District Attorney's Office staff. s of the NWDA staff. Many species...

After more than five years at the Northwestern DA's office working as a juvenile diversion specialist in the Juvenile Justice Unit, Naomi Bledsoe is moving on to work for the Communities that Care Coalition. Colleagues wished her well Friday.

Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Erin Aiello and Sergeant William Loiselle, an animal cruelty investigator with the Law Enforcement Division of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals led a training for 40 animal protection professionals from Hampshire and Franklin counties Thursday at the Sunderland Police Department. The training was offered by the Northwestern District Attorney's Animal Protection Task Force. First convened last fall, the task force brings together local animal control officers, animal welfare agencies, representatives of private animal shelters and county sheriffs’ offices, police, mental health professionals and prosecutors to prevent animal abuse and create response protocols sensitive to the needs of animals.

The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office partners with Communities for Restorative Justice (C4RJ), a community-based restorative justice organization, to divert certain cases out of the court system and into a restorative justice process. This has resulted in positive outcomes in cases in which a defendant has been willing to admit to causing harm. Victims have had the opportunity to participate in determining how the defendant can repair that harm. In one case, the defendant, as part of the restorative agreement, repaid the victim $8,000.

The work that C4RJ does is primarily volunteer-driven; the organization is looking for new volunteers from the community, particularly volunteers who speak Spanish. C4RJ provides significant training to prepare volunteers to work with restorative justice principles and the C4RJ process.

Anyone interested is invited to email C4RJ Program Director, Yael Yaaloz, at [email protected], More information can be found on the website

Home Communities for Restorative Justice (C4RJ) is a growing nonprofit that provides a powerful option within the justice...

Pets of the Northwestern DA's Office. They come in all shapes, sizes and species.

Northwestern DA's office launches new task force to strengthen animal welfare efforts in region; goals to improve animal cruelty investigations, promote prevention efforts
see more at this link:
https://www.northwesternda.org/home/news/new-task-force-aims-strengthen-animal-welfare-efforts-northwestern-district
And see this news report
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8LI6sQ_WO8

New task force aims to strengthen animal welfare efforts in Northwestern district | Northwestern District Attorney The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office is leading an effort to strengthen and better coordinate the work of animal