(Credit: Bucks County DA OFfice)
At a recent annual awards ceremony at the Bucks County Justice Center, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office honored Deputy District Attorney Christine M. Sassane and Assistant District Attorney Timothy W. Lutes for their outstanding dedication and public service.
This year's Exceptional Public Service, Professionalism, and Integrity Award was presented to Sassane, who joined the DA’s Office in 2018. District Attorney Jennifer Schorn described Sassane as a “powerhouse.”
(Credit: Bucks County DA OFfice)As chief of the Homicide by Vehicle/Crash Investigation Unit and chief of Diversionary Courts, Sassane is at the forefront of incredibly demanding and sensitive work, Schorn said, who recognized Sassane's commitment early on. As part of the crash unit, Schorn said Sassane faces “unimaginable tragedy and loss of human life.”
According to Schorn, Sassane’s colleagues echo the praise.
“Christine wears so many hats. She handles the most serious and difficult crash cases, despite all the responsibilities on her shoulder. She never complains and is always willing to help her colleagues,” said one colleague, in a recent press release.
“We don’t do this job for awards or accolades or anything like that,” Sassane said, in accepting the award. “We do this to help the community and protect victims. We work really long hours, we work nights, we work weekends. But we all have each other, and I feel like that’s the best part of this job, so for you guys to vote for me for this, this is really, really special.”
(Credit: Bucks County DA OFfice)The Outstanding Performance Award this year was given to Lutes, who joined the office in 2019. Schorn said Lutes is an indispensable part of the appellate unit and serves as the office’s open records officer.
Schorn highlighted the crucial, behind-the-scenes work of the appellate unit.
“They’re there for us whenever we need them. And you can never predict when that will be, inevitably it will be in court, and there’ll be an issue that comes up that is a time-sensitive issue,” she said. “We could not do it without the appellate unit. You are doing so much of the heavy lifting so that we can be the face of a successful conviction, but it does not happen without all of you.”
Schorn praised Lutes’s unwavering integrity.
“You just step up, you rise to the occasion every time. You are clearly someone whose integrity is without question. If you don’t know the answer, you find the answer, and it’s always so thorough,” Schorn said.
