HWS News
17 September 2024 • Alums Stern '03 Makes a Play for State Attorney By Annabel Ramsay '25
Sam Stern ’03, trial lawyer, educator, author and HWS Trustee, is the Republican nominee for Palm Beach County State Attorney.
The State Attorney is the chief law enforcement officer responsible for prosecuting every criminal case from misdemeanors to capital crimes in Palm Beach County. Stern says his ambition to run for State Attorney stems from his desire to use his prior experience as a state and federal prosecutor to keep his community safe.
“We deserve a State Attorney who seeks justice for victims and who will put criminals behind bars,” Stern says. “As State Attorney, I will enforce the law, free of any outside influence and without fear or favor.”
Winning the Aug. 20 primary election with 63% of the vote, Stern will advance to the November 5 general election. This marks the first time in more than a decade that Palm Beach County voters will choose a new State Attorney.
Stern currently practices law at Stern, Kilcullen and Rufolo LLC, based in Palm Beach Gardens. He previously worked at Kobre & Kim LLP, as well as in the U.S. Department for Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and as a state prosecutor both in Florida and New Jersey. In addition to his experience as a trial lawyer, Stern is an accomplished teacher of cross-examination techniques and serves as a member of the faculty at the University of Miami School of Law and at the University of Virginia School of Law’s Trial Advocacy College.
Last year, Stern published his first book The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Cross-Examination in which Stern explores famous movie court cases through the lens of fundamental principles of cross-examination.
A history major at HWS, Stern says that his HWS education “served as a critical foundation in my development of a free-thinking mind.” He went on to earn his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. In 2019, he was elected to the HWS Board of Trustees, and serves as the Vice Chair of the Audit and Compliance Committee.
