Crime & Safety

Memorial Scholarships Available for Aspiring Prosecutors

Law school students, police officers interested in becoming prosecutors encouraged to apply.

By Anthony Bellano

Law school students seeking to become prosecutors and police officers hoping to advance their careers by going to college are eligible for four available scholarships, the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey, Inc. announced this week.     

Four scholarships, each amounting to $3,500 in one-year grant money, are available to be paid directly to their recipients. The scholarships are dedicated to prosecuting attorneys from all over the state who died while in office. 

The Oscar W. Rittenhouse Memorial Scholarship is available for applicants who have been accepted to law school and have an interest in pursuing a career as a prosecutor.

Rittenhouse was a part-time prosecutor in from 1968-73 in Hunterdon County. He was appointed the county’s first full-time prosecutor in 1975, and died in 1979 while returning from a national prosecutors convention. At that convention, he spoke about preventing juvenile delinquency.

The Andrew K. Ruotolo Jr. Memorial Scholarship is available for applicants who have been accepted to law school or graduate school, and is committed to enhancing the rights and well being of children through advocacy programs.

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Ruotolo was the Union County Prosecutor from 1991-95. He created the Union County Child Advocacy Center, which provides a safe haven for abused children.

The Harris Y. Cotton Memorial Scholarship is available for applicants who have been accepted to law school and have an interest in prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence and hate crime.

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Cotton was the Gloucester County Prosecutor from 1975-80, and 1991-97, earning him the distinction “Dean of Prosecutors.” He created specialized units to combat domestic violence and hate crime. He died 40 minutes before his term expired.

The John H. Stamler Memorial Scholarship is available to sworn law enforcement officers hoping to advance their careers by going to college or completing graduate level courses.

Stamler was the first prosecutor in the state elected to three consecutive terms, serving as Union County Prosecutor from 1977-90. He was an innovator of programs to help victims of domestic violence and child abuse. He championed a witness/victim assistance program, advocated crime prevention and battled against illegal drugs.

A committee that distributes the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey Scholarship Foundation grants will select the recipients.

Applications must be postmarked by Sept. 30, and the committee will personally interview the finalists. The committee will make its decision and notify recipients by November.

Applicants must live in New Jersey and demonstrate a financial need. Previous scholarship recipients are ineligible.

Anyone interested in receiving an application for any of the scholarships may download a copy of the form at www.cpanj.info.


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