Orange County News
For Immediate Release                                                                           Contact: Christopher Borek
 June 29, 2021                                                                                      845.291.3276, 845.238.4245c

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler Receives Statewide Prosecutor of the Year Award at District Attorneys Association of The State of New York Summer Conference 

District Attorney Hoovler Honored for His Leadership of the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York in 2020, as Bail Reform and New Criminal Discovery Laws Were Enacted, and for Helping Prosecutors’ Offices Statewide Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Associated Executive and Administrative Orders

On June 26, 2021, Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler received a 2021 New York Prosecutors Training Institute (NYPTI) Prosecutor of the Year Award. The award was presented at the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York (DAASNY) summer conference held in Bolton Landing, New York. The event was attended by more than a hundred people, including many of New York State’s elected district attorneys and their senior staffs.

District Attorney Hoovler was honored for his executive leadership of DAASNY in 2020. Susan Valle, the Executive Director of NYPTI, presented the award, and stated that the award was given in recognition of the work that District Attorney Hoovler did as President of DAASNY in 2020, a turbulent time that saw dramatic changes in the criminal justice system involving discovery and bail reform, and that saw the COVID-19 pandemic. District Attorney Hoovler was also honored as a steadfast advocate for prosecutors across the state, helping to make sure that the State Legislature and the Governor properly funded recently enacted criminal justice reforms in the upstate communities.

During his year as DAASNY President, District Attorney Hoovler made over thirty trips to Albany to help coordinate the statewide prosecutors’ response to the bail and discovery reforms, and advocated amendments to those reforms that rolled back some of the more-damaging aspects of those reforms. In addition, District Attorney Hoovler went to Albany to address issues involving the enforcement of the Governor’s COVID-19 Executive Orders, and to discuss ways to keep our communities safe while maintaining social distancing and abiding by courtroom closures. 

DAASNY was formed in 1909 as an organization of New York State prosecutors, to provide for the exchange of information about the conduct of their offices, about the New York State criminal justice system, and about the criminal law and its operation. DAASNY encourages and fosters communication, cooperation, training, and consultation among and on behalf of the district attorneys and their staffs for matters concerning the prosecution of crime in New York State and improving the legal system. It is DAASNY’s goal to foster communication between offices both large and small, upstate and downstate, with an emphasis on ethical issues facing prosecutors, so as to ensure greater fairness, transparency, and accuracy within the criminal justice system.

NYPTI is a not-for-profit corporation created in 1995 by DAASNY. NYPTI’s mission is to provide continuing legal education and mutual assistance to New York’s prosecutors’ offices.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award from my fellow prosecutors,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “The award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of my staff. I am proud of the work done by prosecutors throughout the state as they adjusted to new criminal procedure laws, even as they were forced to react to the COVID-19 pandemic.”