Deputy District Attorney Edward M. Louka and Assistant District Attorney Brittney M. Kern were recognized earlier this month with awards for excellence given in memory of two prosecutors.
District Attorney Matthew Weintraub presented Louka with the fourth annual Robert Rosner Memorial Award for Exceptional Public Service, Professionalism and Integrity and Kern with the Danny E. Khalouf Memorial Award for Outstanding Performance.
Weintraub established the awards in memory of two friends and former colleagues with whom he worked in the Lehigh County District Attorney’s office, both of whom died prematurely in vehicle crashes. The winners are chosen by a vote of their fellow attorneys in the office.
“It means my peers thought enough of me, and had enough respect for me, that I stood out among them,” Weintraub said.
Those who nominated Louka called him a “selfless employee” who puts in a lot of time at the office. They said he is a “leader by example,” who will drop what he’s doing to help out.
“Ed is dedicated to the job and takes on some of the most challenging cases while still being available to help others and offer advice,” Weintraub said. “He’s a tremendous asset to this office, a rock, a stalwart.”
Louka joined the District Attorney’s Office in 2006, working for several years in the Special Victims Unit and Major Crimes Unit. He left the office in 2013 and returned in 2017. During his time away, he worked for four years as an assistant district attorney with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, working in the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Unit. He is currently assigned as the Chief of Special Investigations and is the director of the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office Auto Theft Awareness, Education, & Prevention Program.
Kern, according to Bucks County prosecutors, is “a hard worker who is always available to handle a duty and talk the younger ADAs through a case.” Assigned to the special victims unit, Kern “never backs down from a trial” and “really cares about getting justice for her victims,” her peers wrote. “Victims love her, defendants fear her and the office is better with her,” another wrote.
Kern graduated from Michigan State College of Law and Penn State University and served as a judicial law clerk to Bucks County Common Pleas Court Judge James M. McMaster. After a few years working in civil litigation, Kern was hired in the Bucks DA’s office in 2018.
Kern said she was touched by the award.
“It means the world to me to be thought of this way by my peers,” Kern said. “It’s a little overwhelming. Because I think the same things that have been said about me could be said about every single person in this room. I’m so honored to work with all of you and fight this fight with all of you.”
