Kathleen joins our office with a wealth of criminal law experience of over 25 years in the field. She served as a prosecutor with the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office for the majority of her career where she became a specialist in Pretrial Intervention cases. Pretrial Intervention is an extraordinary opportunity for first-time offenders to ultimately have their cases dismissed upon successful completion. Kathleen will advocate fiercely to have your case diverted through this program. If you are denied entry, Kathleen has extensive experience in litigating appeals. She is intricately familiar with the process since she served as the Pretrial Intervention Prosecutor for nearly eight years. Katheen also has experience is numerous other areas of the office, including prosecuting domestic-violence cases, trial work, juvenile and Appellate cases.
Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Freehold, NJ · September 01 to October 2025
- Pretrial Intervention Prosecutor: March 2018 until October 2025: Pretrial Intervention Specialist. Responsible for all PTI memorandums for trial teams consisting of acceptances, rejections and reconsiderations. Handled PTI termination hearings as well as all PTI appeals for that unit. Responsible for approving all dismissals after successful completion of PTI. Responsible for responding to requests for early discharge from PTI.
- Domestic Violence Prosecutor: March 2014 to March 2018: Duties include handling the domestic- violence calendar which consists of approximately 20 cases during one session. Prepared plea negotiations and tried various cases. Also responsible for Weapons Forfeiture hearings/trials.
- Trial Division: Pre-Indictment/ Drug Court Prosecutor: March 2009 to March 2014: Pre-Indictment prosecutor: responsible for preparation of pre-trial plea offers and negotiations for approximately 50-60 files weekly; responsibilities include legal review of various cases, including recognition of potential defenses and appropriate outcomes. This position is highly independent and requires little supervision; responsibilities include negotiating cases with defense counsel on a daily basis in conjunction with conveyance of legal analysis and recommendations to various investigating officers and victims; serve as backup prosecutor for Drug Court. Served as legal advisor for various municipalities.
- Appellate Division: Appellate Clerk: June 2007 until February 2009: Supervised assigned law clerks with writing motions; Superior Court, including driving while intoxicated appeals. Special Assignment: wrote Death Penalty Brief that was filed in the New Jersey Supreme Court: State v. Cooper.
- Trial Division: February 2004 to June 2007: Litigated jury trials and various motions. At trial, conduct voir dire of jury panels, direct and cross examinations of witnesses, deliver opening statements and summations. Appear and argue before the court during Probable Cause and Krol (defendant found not guilty by reason of insanity) hearings. Evaluated and prepared cases from grand jury presentation to trial. Negotiated case dispositions and sentence recommendations. Served as legal advisor for various municipalities. Prepared search warrants.
- Family Division: February 2002 to February 2004: responsibilities included litigating juvenile bench trials and preparing cases for plea hearings and motions.
- Appellate Division: Appellate Clerk, September 2001 to January 2002: prepared and argued motions in Superior Court.
Monmouth County Police Academy Instructor: September 2007 until present (see pg. 2)
- Seton Hall University School of Law, Center for Social Justice, Newark, NJ · Sept 2000 to May 2000
- Research Assistant, Civil Litigation and Fair Housing Clinics
- Researched substantive and procedural issues related to civil and fair housing issues. Assisted staff attorneys with the preparation of witnesses and necessary documents for various proceedings.
Honorable Peter J. Giovine, P.J.Cr.P., Superior Court, Toms River NJ · Sept 2000 to August 2001
- Judicial Law Clerk
- Prepared memoranda for Presiding Judge of Criminal Part for motion hearings, Megan’s Law Hearings, Krol Hearings and Municipal Appeals; served as Certified Mediator in small claims and Landlord/Tenant proceedings.
