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ATTORNEY GENERAL ASHCROFT WELCOMES WHITE HOUSE NOMINEE

WASHINGTON, D.C. Attorney General John Ashcroft today welcomed President George W. Bush's announcement of his intention to nominate Sarah J. Hart to be Director of the National Institute of Justice at the Department of Justice.

"Sarah Hart will be a great asset to us," Ashcroft said. "Her record of service is impressive, and her commitment to justice is clear. I look forward to working with her in accomplishing our goals for the Department."

Hart has served as the Chief Counsel for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections since 1995. In that capacity, she provided substantial assistance to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees regarding the drafting of prison legislation.

Previously, she served for sixteen years as a prosecutor in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, where she acted as lead counsel for nine years in federal litigation involving the Philadelphia prison system. She also assisted in drafting Pennsylvania's drug nuisance law, nuisance bar legislation, and sentencing and parole reform bills.

Hart currently serves on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's Appellate Procedural Rules Committee, and was the former Vice Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee of the American Correctional Association. She has provided training on corrections legal issues to the National Institute of Corrections, the National Association of Attorneys General, the American Correctional Association and the Association of State Corrections Administrators. She has authored several articles concerning courts, corrections and criminal law.

Hart received her undergraduate degree in criminal justice from the University of Delaware and her law degree from Rutgers Camden School of law, where she was associate editor of the law review. In her spare time, she provides free legal assistance to rape victim organizations and rape victims.

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