NAFUSA is pleased to announce the 2024 winner of the J. Michael Bradford
Memorial Award – Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) John F. Romano
from the District of New Jersey. John was selected from an outstanding group of nominees from U.S. Attorney offices across the country because of his outstanding advocacy in United States v. Jackson, a case involving two
defendants’ horrifying treatment of three foster children between the ages of
2-months and 4-years old while living at the Picatinny Arsenal and elsewhere.
The jury heard overwhelming evidence of gut-wrenching abuse and neglect
against the three children, causing them life threatening injuries. Despite the
defendants’ grievous conduct, the originally assigned district judge imposed
sentences so lenient that the Solicitor General authorized three affirmative
appeals and two requests for reassignment. AUSA Romano prevailed in all
three appeals, which included two oral arguments, while securing
reassignment to another district judge in the third appeal. He handled three
resentencing hearings before the District Court, two before the originally
assigned district judge and then before the reassigned district judge. Finally,
he successfully moved for summary action to foreclose the defendants from
challenging their convictions on appeal. That motion was granted in January
2024.

After reviewing the nomination submitted by U.S. Attorney Phillip Sellinger, the NAFUSA Board of Directors found that AUSA Romano’s continuous and
dogged efforts to seek justice for these vulnerable victims exemplifies his
devotion to the mission of the Department of Justice and has voted to award
him the Bradford Award for 2024. The Award will be presented by NAFUSA
Secretary Tim Purdon at the NAFUSA Conference in Oklahoma City on
September 27, 2024, and AUSA Romano will deliver remarks about the
Jackson prosecution which included two long trials, as well as exhausting
pretrial and post-trial proceedings. According to USA Sellinger, for more than
nine years John Romano played a pivotal role in the effort to secure justice for
the victims in this case.

Each of this year’s candidates for the Bradford Award exemplified the high
standards and commitment to justice that the Bradford Award honors. The
decision wasn’t easy. The following AUSAs were nominated by their offices for the award based on their outstanding service to the Department of Justice
and each has received an award from NAFUSA, thanks to the generosity of
former NAFUSA president Ed Dowd:

Audrey B. Hemesath
Eastern District of California

Melanie K. Pierson
Southern District of California

Brian Dunn
District of Colorado

Jocelyn Courtney Kaoutzanis
District of Connecticut

Gregory Rosen
District of Columbia

Rachelle DesVaux Bedke
Middle District of Florida

Ron Timmons
Northern District of Iowa

Christopher M. O’Connor
Western District of Michigan

Michael J. Goldberger
Eastern District of New York

Catherine Mirabile
Eastern District of New York

Lara Pomerantz
Southern District of New York

Robert Yalen
Southern District of New York

Kathryn Risinger
Middle District of Tennessee

Ahmed Safeeullah
Middle District of Tennessee

Ben Schrader
Middle District of Tennessee

Adrian Garcia
Eastern District of Texas

Carmen Castillo Mitchell
Southern District of Texas

Timothy J. Ohms
Eastern District of Washington