26 The QUEE NS Courier • june 6, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com SPOTLIGHT ON JUSTICE: JUDGE CAROL STOKINGER BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com Growing up in the age of Perry Mason, a fictional television defense attorney, Judge Carol Stokinger knew she wanted to pursue a career in which she could investigate cases and help do the right thing for others. While studying in Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, Stokinger’s decision came down to teaching at an elementary school or going to law school. “It was really family values that were motivating me to do what I did,” she said. In her last year at Mount Holyoke, she decided to apply to Columbia Law School. “I think through law school I maintained my interest in being a trial lawyer or courtroom lawyer,” she said. “I really wanted to learn to be that courtroom lawyer.” She began her career in 1977, when she was assigned to the Trial Division in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and stayed there for 23 years. In 1992, she became chief of the Family Violence and Child Abuse Bureau and was able to keep up her interest in helping children. In 2000, she was appointed as a judge to the Family Court by then- Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. She was reappointed in 2010, having become supervising judge of Queens County Family Court in 2009. Stokinger noted that being a judge is different than being a prosecutor because as a judge, she is not involved in the case investigation and her decision depends on the information provided by lawyers. “As a prosecutor, you are fairly proactive in the investigations. You are somewhat in control,” she said. “As the judge, you sit in the courtroom and you are very isolated on what’s happened outside. You are not the investigator. It’s a very different role.” Although Stokinger does not live in Queens, she enjoys working in the borough and does not mind the long commute from Manhattan. “I just think Queens is a great place to work. It’s a very diverse community,” she said. “Despite my very long commute, it’s well worth it. I think Queens is a really amazing place.” When she is not in the courtroom, Stokinger enjoys spending time with her two children and husband. “i just think queens is a great place to work. it’s a very diverse community.” JUDGE CAROL STOKINGER Photo Courtesy of Judge Carol Stokinger Martin A. Funeral Home L.L.C. – Call for a FREE Planning Guide – • Our Services are available in all areas • Large Parking Facilities at all Locations • Personal Service, 24 Hours a Day • Burial and Cremation Services Available • Family Owned and Operated • FDIC Insured Pre-Plan Accounts • Pre-Arrangements Available • Out of Town Service, Call Us First • Shipping Specialists John A. Golden: Member of K. of C. and C*KHS; Thomas A. Golden III: Member AOH, KHS (Owner, Operators) 149-20 Northern Boulevard • Flushing • 718-359-6300 10-25 150th Street • Whitestone • 718-359-1122 36-46 Bell Boulevard • Bayside • 718-428-2210 Please Visit Our Website @ www.gleasonsfuneral.com Martin A. Gleason Funeral Home L.L.C.: The Preferred Choice Bribery conviction stands BY TERENCE M. CULLEN AND MAGIE HAYES editorial@queenscourier.com Federal judges have upheld the conviction of former health executive David Rosen for attempted bribery of elected officials. “The corruption of elected officials undermines public confidence in our democratic institutions,” Judge Raymond J. Lohier Jr. wrote in the ruling. “The government has a wide berth to combat it.” Rosen is the former CEO of MediSys, a nonprofit that managed Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Flushing Hospital, the now-shuttered Peninsula Hospital and Brookdale University Hospital in Brooklyn. He was convicted in 2011 of trying to bribe then-State Senator Carl Kruger and Assemblymember William Boyland Jr. to help MediSys gain political influence. Rosen was also charged with paying $400,000 to former Assemblymember Anthony Seminario through a phony consulting ring while he was still in office. Rosen filed to appeal the conviction last summer after being sentenced to three years in prison. He is so far the only defendant in this case who has gone to trial. Seminario pled guilty in 2009 and died two years later in a federal corrections facility.
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