In an office filled with hard working, caring and dedicated prosecutors, two stood out among their peers last year. 

Described as "positive leaders, knowledgeable and always focused on doing what is right," Deputy District Attorney Edward M. Louka and Assistant District Attorney Brittney M. Kern were recognized Thursday with awards for excellence given in memory of two similarly accomplished prosecutors who died before their time.

District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub on Thursday 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 honor 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, which Weintraub said is what makes these awards that much more special.

"It means my peers thought enough of me, and had enough respect for me, that I stood out among them," he said before handing out the awards. 

Rosner, who died in 2014 at age 52, was a former Marine and Warwick Township police officer who became an assistant district attorney and a deputy attorney general. His sons, Matthew and Eric, attended the ceremony.

Tough, smart and fearless, Rosner was a "hard charger" who had a crystal clear moral compass, Weintraub said, adding you could always count on him doing what was right. 

The Rosner award is presented to a deputy district attorney who exemplifies his qualities. Louka fits that description, his colleagues said.

Those who nominated Louka called him a "selfless employee"  who puts in so much 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 Victim’s 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.

Louka thanked his wife after receiving the award and told Rosner's sons he was honored to receive an award in their father's name. "He made an impact on the prosecution community,” Louka told them. 

Danny Khalouf was 27 when he and three close friends were killed by a drunken driver in 2004. He had spent two years as an assistant district attorney in Lehigh County, had been chosen to work with the community as part of the Weed and Seed crime-fighting program, and mentored teenagers through his church.

Weintraub described Khalouf as "one of the kindest, gentlest souls you would ever want to meet." He said Khalouf's legacy as a prosecutor lives on, not only at the Bucks County District Attorney's office, but also at the Lehigh County District Attorney's office where a scholarship program is dedicated to him. 

Bucks County Senior Deputy Public Defender Michael Lacson also spoke glowingly of Khalouf, his friend "who was more like a brother" and law school roommate at Temple.

The award in Khalouf’s name is given to an assistant district attorney for outstanding performance of his or her duties with courage, passion and teamwork.

That's Brittney Kern, according to Bucks County prosecutors, describing her as "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 the Honorable James M. McMaster before she came to Weintraub for a position in his office in 2015. With no legal experience, Weintraub said he couldn't offer her a position at the time, but he recalled "she was determined to be a prosecutor."

After a few years working in civil litigation, Kern returned and was hired in Bucks County in 2018.

"It was always her goal to come back to Bucks County, the county where she lived and the people who she wanted to serve," Weintraub said. "That is just dogged determination."

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."

Contact: Manuel Gamiz Jr., 215.348.6298, mgamiz@buckscounty.org