PRESS RELEASE
Contact: William J. Smith (718) 556-7150
William.Smith@rcda.nyc.gov
For Immediate Release on November 28, 2006

ADA Yolanda L. Rudich to Receive 2006 Thomas E. Dewey Medal
***Veteran Island Prosecutor to Receive 2nd Annual Award for Outstanding Prosecutors at Ceremony to be Held at New York City Bar Association. ***

     STATEN ISLAND, NY - Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. today announced that Assistant District Attorney Yolanda L. Rudich, Chief to the Sex Crimes/Special Victims Bureau, would be the Richmond County recipient of the 2006 Thomas E. Dewy Medal at a ceremony to be held Tuesday evening at the Manhattan offices of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. The Thomas E. Dewey Medal, sponsored by the law firm of Dewey Ballantine LLP, is awarded annually to one outstanding Assistant District Attorney in each of New York City's five counties.

     District Attorney Donovan, who nominated Ms. Rudich for the award, stated, “Yolanda Rudich has devoted her entire career to protecting our community and prosecuting those who would prey on our most vulnerable citizens. She has been a tireless advocate for the rights of crime victims and a role model to a generation of young women who have entered the legal profession in this community.”

     Assistant District Attorney Rudich stated, “I am truly honored to receive the 2006 Dewey Medal from such an important organization as the New York City Bar. In honoring me, this award also recognizes the work of the entire staff of the Sex Crimes/Special Victims Bureau. Their daily dedication and professionalism on behalf of victims of sex crimes, child abuse, domestic violence and elder abuse is inspirational.”

     A graduate of the College of Staten Island with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, and the Rutgers University School of Law – Newark, with a Juris Doctorate, Yolanda L. Rudich has spent nearly her entire career as an Assistant District Attorney in Richmond County, beginning in 1986 after four years as law clerk to a Kings County Acting Supreme Court Justice. As Chief of the Sex Crimes/Special Victims’ Bureau, Ms. Rudich is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of sex crimes, child abuse, domestic violence and crimes against seniors. She also oversees the prosecution of cases in Richmond County’s Integrated Domestic Violence Court. In addition to these duties, Ms. Rudich also oversees a staff of victim advocates who provide victims with referrals for support and protective services.

     Ms. Rudich has achieved success both as a trial prosecutor and appellate attorney. In 1998, she successfully argued her first case in the New York State Court of Appeals. In 2004, she obtained a manslaughter conviction after trial against the mother of a three year-old child who died of Battered Child Syndrome. In July of that same year, she supervised the investigation and indictment of one of the first defendants to be indicted in New York State for a sexual assault based upon a DNA profile. Utilizing New York State’s Hate Crimes statute, Ms. Rudich supervised the investigation and indictment of three individuals for a Hate Crime for the home invasion and robbery of a 93 year-old man, targeted because of his age – becoming the 2nd county in New York State to obtain such an indictment. In addition, attorneys under Ms. Rudich’s supervision obtained the 1st felony conviction for video voyeurism in New York State, under Stephanie’s Law.

     Ms. Rudich has served as a past president of the Staten Island Women’s Bar Association and a former vice president of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York. She serves on the Mayor’s Sexual Assault Task Force, the Criminal Justice Child Abuse Task Force, the New York City Family Court Advisory Council, the New York City Department of Aging Elder Abuse Task Force, and the New York State District Attorneys Association’s Sexual Assault & Family Violence Subcommittee. She is a founding member of the Staten Island Child Advocacy Center, which serves as a resource to physically and/or sexually abused children, and serves on its steering committee. Ms. Rudich has been recognized by Governor George Pataki for her contributions regarding both Anti-Stalking statutes enacted in 1999 as well as the Sexual Assault Reform Act of 2000.

     The Medal was first awarded on November 29, 2005. The first Richmond County recipient was Executive Assistant District Attorney Timothy J. Koller.

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