Ogiste, counsel to Brooklyn DA. to receive medal From NYC Bar

November 26, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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Lance Ogiste, counsel to the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, will receive the Thomas E. Dewey Medal from the NYC Bar Association at their eighth annual event on Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 42 West 44th St.

District Attorney Charles J. Hynes said, “I want to congratulate Lance Ogiste on this prestigious honor. He is an exceptional prosecutor and program leader in our office and a tremendous community supporter. He is truly deserving of this award from the Bar Association as he exemplifies the qualities that serve as an example to all of our prosecutors.”

Lance Ogiste is a leader in the DA’s Office as well as in Brooklyn’s diverse community, mentoring youth and volunteering with local legal and charitable organizations. Ogiste oversees the Appeals, Gangs, and Major Narcotics bureaus and the ComALERT Program, which aids ex-offenders by helping them re-enter society after periods of incarceration.

Born and raised in New York City, Ogiste organizes and attends various events throughout Brooklyn, informing residents of the programs and services that the DA’s office provides. Out in the community, he encourages people to turn to the District Attorney’s Office for help, if they have been victimized.

Prior to his appointment as counsel to the District Attorney, Ogiste was in charge of the Civil Rights Bureau, which is responsible for prosecuting bias and hate crimes, and supervised attorneys working on immigration fraud cases. In addition, he has been deputy bureau chief in the Appeals Trial Unit, a senior trial attorney in the Trial Cadre, which handled murder and high-publicity cases; and an assistant in the Law Enforcement Investigations Bureau, which prosecuted police officers accused of crimes.

Outside of the DA’s Office, Ogiste is involved in many professional associations. He is a member of the National Black Prosecutor’s Association and the American Bar Association, where he is a former co-chair of the Committee on Re-Entry, which focuses on issues affecting ex-offenders reintegrating into society; a member of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association; and a member of the Committee on Character and Fitness for the Second Judicial Department for the State of New York.

The Thomas E. Dewey Medal Award is presented each year to an outstanding prosecutor in each county and in the Office of the City’s Special Narcotics Prosecutor.

Past winners of the Thomas E. Dewey Medal from the Kings County District Attorney’s Office include Rhonnie Jaus (2011), Mary Hughes (2010), Wanda Lucibello (2009), Charles Guria (2008), Michael Vecchione (2007), Anne Swern (2006) and Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi (2005).