Orange County News
 For Immediate Release                                Contact: Christopher Borek 
 Monday, April 11, 2022                          845.291.3276, 845.238.4245c

District Attorney Hoovler Releases 

His Office’s 2021 Annual Report

Describing Highlights of Office Operations in 2021

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler released his Office’s 2021 Annual Report on Friday, April 8, 2022. The report describes details of the Office’s operations last year. A few highlights of the report include:

• Recommencing Litigation in Face of COVID Pandemic. In 2021 the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) again commenced trying cases in front of juries, even as the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic continued. Assistant District Attorneys were confronted with new challenges, such as conducting proceedings while everyone in the courtroom, including defendants who had to be identified by witnesses, were fully masked.  Since September 2021, when the Office began again trying felony cases, the Office was able to obtain top-count convictions on each of the three felony cases that were tried in 2021.
• Continued Emphasis on Narcotics Enforcement. One of the most important accomplishments of the Office was to continue to the emphasis on prosecuting narcotics dealers during the pandemic.   The opioid crisis continued in New York State and Orange County.  Fatal overdose numbers remained appallingly high in 2021. The Office follows the same investigative protocols in overdose fatalities as in homicides. While the Office continues to advocate for treatment courts for some offenders with addiction issues, higher level dealers must be incarcerated in order to rein in the devastation that these lethal substances continue to cause in our communities.
• NYPTI Prosecutor of the Year.  On June 26, 2021, DA Hoovler was honored to receive a 2021 New York Prosecutors Training Institute (NYPTI) Prosecutor of the Year Award.  NYPTI was created by the District Attorneys Association State of New York, (DAASNY), itself an organization of New York State prosecutors founded in 1909.

“2021 was the beginning of the transition out of the pandemic and towards more regular court proceedings,” said District Attorney Hoovler. “My Office and staff met the incredible challenges posed by the pandemic and continued to see that justice was achieved in the face of unprecedented adversity.  While my Office continued to cope with the misguided legislative changes implemented in the last few years, we have fought hard on behalf of victims of crime and for citizens throughout the County.  We seek to build on the work of 2021 and look forward to continued success in the year ahead of us.”