[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 22 (Thursday, February 9, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E171-E172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING BRONX COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY ROBERT T. JOHNSON

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 9, 2012

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, in honor of Black History Month 2012, I 
rise today to recognize an individual from the Bronx whom I admire 
greatly, the Honorable Robert T. Johnson.
  Robert T. Johnson has been the District Attorney of Bronx County 
since January 1, 1989. His first election was a historic one, as he 
became the first African-American District Attorney in the history of 
New York State. He is now the longest serving District Attorney in 
Bronx history.
  Mr. Johnson, a native New Yorker, was born in the Bronx. He is a 
product of some of the many great schools in our city, including James 
Monroe High School, the City College of New York, and New York 
University School of Law. He has dedicated much of his professional 
life to helping, protecting, and defending the residents of New York 
City, and has spent several years as both a criminal defense attorney 
for the Legal Aid Society, and eight years as a Bronx Assistant 
District Attorney. In August of 1986, he was appointed a Judge of the 
New York City Criminal Court, and was later promoted to Acting Justice 
of the New York State Supreme Court, where he served until 1988.
  Although Mr. Johnson has emphasized the prosecution of serious 
crimes, he has shown a great understanding of the many other factors 
that impact the criminal justice system. He has worked to reduce 
recidivism, to improve community outreach, to support drug 
rehabilitation as well as alternatives to incarceration, and to better 
deploy crime prevention strategies. He deeply understands that being a 
District Attorney is about more than just conviction rates--it is about 
solving the underlying problems that cause crime in the first place. 
Towards that end, Mr. Johnson has also worked to educate young people 
in the Bronx in order to help prevent crime and improve the quality of 
life in our neighborhoods. Two recent examples of these efforts are the 
Youth Trial Advocacy Program (Y-TAP) and the Students Together Avoiding 
Risk (STAR) Program. Y-TAP provides high school students with an 
opportunity to develop debating and advocacy skills by competing in a 
moot court program under the supervision of Assistant District 
Attorneys. Through the STAR program, staff from the District Attorney's 
Office provide 5th and 6th graders, along with their parents, with 
guidance on the repercussions and impact of gang participation, gun 
violence and drugs.
  Mr. Speaker, after so many years of working to protect the residents 
of the Bronx, Mr. Johnson has earned the gratitude of more people than 
he could possibly know. Mr. Johnson is not only a highly respected 
prosecutor who enforces the law justly and fairly, he is also revered 
by a wide variety of communities throughout the Bronx. This is a 
testament to his judicious manner and evenhandedness, qualities that 
are paramount for a district attorney. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my 
colleagues join me in paying tribute to someone who

[[Page E172]]

serves the residents of the Bronx with such distinction, The Honorable 
Robert T. Johnson.

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