Congratulations to the students who were honored by Nicole LoStracco for their interviews with her. While all of the stories were interesting, three received special certificates.
NyJa Stevenson's article was named "Most Relevant."
Nicole Newby's article was named "Most Accurate."
Sam Arnold's article was named "Most Fun To Read."
All of the articles are listed below.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
LoStracco Interview - Daria Ricks
Picture a tall, lovely woman with long light brown hair and a smile that draws y into a direct attention, coming into a classroom. She has a pleasant voice that will exhilarate people and has a passion to make a difference on the college campus of Stephen F. Austin State University. She speaks her mind, and is not nervous when it comes to big audiences, and don’t sugar code information for anyone. Look no further, Nicole LoStracco, 37, has participated in multiple programs with Peggy Scott who is with the judicial office at Stephen F. Austin State University. She has been the guest speaker at programs like Anti-Hazing and Date Rape Prevention to many students and organizations on campus. She also talks about the dangers of alcohol, sex and drugs. “It can have a big impact on your future, you got to be careful,” she said. She participates in these programs because the judicial office at SFA asks her to and she wants to inform students of their rights. She said most of her clients are from SFA and those with whom she comes in contact in her defense office.
“Alcohol is a real big issues nowadays,” LoStracco said. She was one of the guest speakers at the program called Risk Management Training on Sept. 24. Ten days later, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning. She said, “Emotionally, I have to look at view of the parents, you will know when you have kids.” LoStracco, is an law attorney who grew up in the suburban San Francisco area. She was also raised in Belgium and Hawaii. Her family members to her father and her godfather were lawyers. Her father’s business transferred the family to Hawaii and that is why she spent most of her holidays on the island. She graduated from Mills College, a liberal art’s women’s university in San Francisco. When she was in her junior year in college, she had the opportunity of a lifetime to go to Spain for 18 months and soon planned to further her education and go to graduate school.
LoStracco went to Texas Tech University in Lubbock where she got her law degree. While attending Texas Tech, she met her future husband, James R. LoStracco. She decided to double her courses in the second year so they could graduate at the same time and be together after graduate school. She ended up graduating six months early. After graduating she came back to Nacogdoches and the two of them got married. They now have a daughter named Julia who is four and a half, and a son named Trey who will be two this month. After she followed her husband to Nacogdoches she needed a job. Her first year she went to Lufkin and thought of working for a bank but that did not work out for her. Then LoStracco went to practice law. “I probably spent a year doing that,” LoStracco said. She specialized in child assault cases, in which she kept doing for another couple of years.
LoStracco served eight years as an assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches and in October, 2004, she left the District Attorney’s office and opened up her own criminal defense office. LoStracco thinks that in order for lawyers to be able to help people in bad situations with the law that the client should be honest with them and she never help anyone who she does not find that are honest to her. She said, “As a defense lawyer 90 percent is plea bargaining.” In most of the cases she has dealt with, half of her clients have committed the crime and want the best plea bargain possible. She has been doing criminal defense work for a while and is now turning back to the District Attorney’s office. She said, “I believe that the numbers at the office are down and the managerial position needs to be worked out.” She also said that her friends and people who work at the office want her to come back and have told her about the problems they are faced with at their jobs.
“ I am going back because things need to be changed, LoStracco said. “One of the hardest things to do is managing people,” she said. She also believes that firing people who are not keeping up with the pace or just not cutting it is also the hardest thing to do.
LoStracco is now running in the political office to be the next district attorney. If she wins the election, she will be serving a four-year term. She is a Republican and she is running against Stephanie Stephens who is the district attorney in office at the moment. The primary is March 4, 2008 and then people will know who the next district attorney will be. If elected she will take office in January 2009. LoStracco said that if she does not win the election, she knows that she has a great job working at her own criminal defense office and if she does she will have a new exciting job that she will like.
Nicole LoStracco leads a very interesting life, filled with goals, achievements, and happiness. She has a career working at her own criminal defense office, soon will be running for District Attorney, a guest speaker at college campus giving awareness to students, and married with a husband and two kids. Nicole LoStracco is a woman who is dedicated to help students and others on a daily basis.
“Alcohol is a real big issues nowadays,” LoStracco said. She was one of the guest speakers at the program called Risk Management Training on Sept. 24. Ten days later, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning. She said, “Emotionally, I have to look at view of the parents, you will know when you have kids.” LoStracco, is an law attorney who grew up in the suburban San Francisco area. She was also raised in Belgium and Hawaii. Her family members to her father and her godfather were lawyers. Her father’s business transferred the family to Hawaii and that is why she spent most of her holidays on the island. She graduated from Mills College, a liberal art’s women’s university in San Francisco. When she was in her junior year in college, she had the opportunity of a lifetime to go to Spain for 18 months and soon planned to further her education and go to graduate school.
LoStracco went to Texas Tech University in Lubbock where she got her law degree. While attending Texas Tech, she met her future husband, James R. LoStracco. She decided to double her courses in the second year so they could graduate at the same time and be together after graduate school. She ended up graduating six months early. After graduating she came back to Nacogdoches and the two of them got married. They now have a daughter named Julia who is four and a half, and a son named Trey who will be two this month. After she followed her husband to Nacogdoches she needed a job. Her first year she went to Lufkin and thought of working for a bank but that did not work out for her. Then LoStracco went to practice law. “I probably spent a year doing that,” LoStracco said. She specialized in child assault cases, in which she kept doing for another couple of years.
LoStracco served eight years as an assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches and in October, 2004, she left the District Attorney’s office and opened up her own criminal defense office. LoStracco thinks that in order for lawyers to be able to help people in bad situations with the law that the client should be honest with them and she never help anyone who she does not find that are honest to her. She said, “As a defense lawyer 90 percent is plea bargaining.” In most of the cases she has dealt with, half of her clients have committed the crime and want the best plea bargain possible. She has been doing criminal defense work for a while and is now turning back to the District Attorney’s office. She said, “I believe that the numbers at the office are down and the managerial position needs to be worked out.” She also said that her friends and people who work at the office want her to come back and have told her about the problems they are faced with at their jobs.
“ I am going back because things need to be changed, LoStracco said. “One of the hardest things to do is managing people,” she said. She also believes that firing people who are not keeping up with the pace or just not cutting it is also the hardest thing to do.
LoStracco is now running in the political office to be the next district attorney. If she wins the election, she will be serving a four-year term. She is a Republican and she is running against Stephanie Stephens who is the district attorney in office at the moment. The primary is March 4, 2008 and then people will know who the next district attorney will be. If elected she will take office in January 2009. LoStracco said that if she does not win the election, she knows that she has a great job working at her own criminal defense office and if she does she will have a new exciting job that she will like.
Nicole LoStracco leads a very interesting life, filled with goals, achievements, and happiness. She has a career working at her own criminal defense office, soon will be running for District Attorney, a guest speaker at college campus giving awareness to students, and married with a husband and two kids. Nicole LoStracco is a woman who is dedicated to help students and others on a daily basis.
LoStracco Interview - Ashley Taylor
Nicole LoStracco has become a regular visitor on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University as a speaker. As a runner for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches, LoStracco has become a known leader in the community.
She is well-dressed woman with a great sense of style. She wore a very nice black long sleeve shirt with a long pin stripe skirt with knee high black boots. She is married to James R. LoStracco and has two kids, Trey, 2, and Juliette, 4 but still maintains a criminal defense practice.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco, California and raised in Hawaii and Belgium. She received her law degree at Texas Tech University. Her family has a deep background of law. “My father is a lawyer and my godfather. I have a lot of law in my family”, she said. She actually graduated six months early in December and moved to Nacogdoches after graduation with her husband. With desperate need of a job she and her husband began to take all job offers. LoStracco began her first year of practice in Lufkin but did not like the commute. She began searching for other jobs in Nacogdoches but not many positions that she liked were open.
LoStracco began her journey of life in a place she did not see herself in but she made it work. She thought she would be in a family practice specializing in divorce. She said, “I found a spot open at the District Attorney’s Office but the position was not funded.” She worked as a prosecutor for three years on any case involving abused women. She quit working for the district attorney office in October of 2004 and opened her own criminal defense practice.
She is often asked how did she go from prosecuting to defending and she said, “A high 90 percent of cases end in plea bargaining so there is not much of a difference.” LoStracco did not know much about criminal defense and could only remember taking one class in criminal defense. Today she is her own manager and said, “It’s hard managing people under you.” But she knows if people are not doing their job as hard as it is they have to be fired.
As a woman and young lawyer organizations at SFA were interested in LoStracco’s insight of the system. Organizations began to call her up to make speeches at various events going on on the campus. She was one of the many speakers at the SFA’s Risk Management Training; she was given the topic sex, drugs and alcohol.
LoStracco explained why she thought she was chosen to speak. She said, “I’m one of the young lawyers in town. I seem to be more on the same level of students.” There were thousands of students in the assembly and she didn’t display any nervousness. With her knowledge of the system, it was easy for LoStracco to speak on the subject. She has dealt with many types of criminals and she also deals with many student cases. Many of her student cases deal with sex, drugs and alcohol.
Ten days after the training assembly a SFA student died of alcohol poisoning. She said, “People just don’t understand that you can die from alcohol. It was a tragedy. Clearly people don’t get it.”
Hazing is another subject that LoStracco deals with, which wasn’t a big problem in her days of college. LoStracco look at hazing cases through the parents’ point of view because even though college students are treated as adults they are still young.
LoStracco loves being her own manager but she began to notice that the numbers were down at the district attorney’s office. People began to tell her she should run for the opening at the office.
She said, “ It was not an idea that I came up with to run for office but people from the community came up to me telling me I should run.” So she decided to give it a try and she is running against Stephanie Stephens. If she is elected she will take office in January of 2009. The community was very concerned with what and where their tax dollars were going. She said, “The community basically nominated her for the position.”
She is well-dressed woman with a great sense of style. She wore a very nice black long sleeve shirt with a long pin stripe skirt with knee high black boots. She is married to James R. LoStracco and has two kids, Trey, 2, and Juliette, 4 but still maintains a criminal defense practice.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco, California and raised in Hawaii and Belgium. She received her law degree at Texas Tech University. Her family has a deep background of law. “My father is a lawyer and my godfather. I have a lot of law in my family”, she said. She actually graduated six months early in December and moved to Nacogdoches after graduation with her husband. With desperate need of a job she and her husband began to take all job offers. LoStracco began her first year of practice in Lufkin but did not like the commute. She began searching for other jobs in Nacogdoches but not many positions that she liked were open.
LoStracco began her journey of life in a place she did not see herself in but she made it work. She thought she would be in a family practice specializing in divorce. She said, “I found a spot open at the District Attorney’s Office but the position was not funded.” She worked as a prosecutor for three years on any case involving abused women. She quit working for the district attorney office in October of 2004 and opened her own criminal defense practice.
She is often asked how did she go from prosecuting to defending and she said, “A high 90 percent of cases end in plea bargaining so there is not much of a difference.” LoStracco did not know much about criminal defense and could only remember taking one class in criminal defense. Today she is her own manager and said, “It’s hard managing people under you.” But she knows if people are not doing their job as hard as it is they have to be fired.
As a woman and young lawyer organizations at SFA were interested in LoStracco’s insight of the system. Organizations began to call her up to make speeches at various events going on on the campus. She was one of the many speakers at the SFA’s Risk Management Training; she was given the topic sex, drugs and alcohol.
LoStracco explained why she thought she was chosen to speak. She said, “I’m one of the young lawyers in town. I seem to be more on the same level of students.” There were thousands of students in the assembly and she didn’t display any nervousness. With her knowledge of the system, it was easy for LoStracco to speak on the subject. She has dealt with many types of criminals and she also deals with many student cases. Many of her student cases deal with sex, drugs and alcohol.
Ten days after the training assembly a SFA student died of alcohol poisoning. She said, “People just don’t understand that you can die from alcohol. It was a tragedy. Clearly people don’t get it.”
Hazing is another subject that LoStracco deals with, which wasn’t a big problem in her days of college. LoStracco look at hazing cases through the parents’ point of view because even though college students are treated as adults they are still young.
LoStracco loves being her own manager but she began to notice that the numbers were down at the district attorney’s office. People began to tell her she should run for the opening at the office.
She said, “ It was not an idea that I came up with to run for office but people from the community came up to me telling me I should run.” So she decided to give it a try and she is running against Stephanie Stephens. If she is elected she will take office in January of 2009. The community was very concerned with what and where their tax dollars were going. She said, “The community basically nominated her for the position.”
LoStracco Interview - Ashleigh Fontenot
“Alcohol is real big issue of today’s college.” Nicole Lostracco said in her Monday morning interview with Ms. Bond’s class. Lostracco said she could only imagine what the parents of Nikolas Gallegos, who died of alcohol poisoning felt in their time of grief. She said she could only us this experience to better prepare her children for when they get older.
Ten days before Nikolas’ death LoStracco had just given a speech to Stephen F. Austin’s student body. She explained to the students how alcoholic issue is a vector in criminal cases. LoStracco named many cases where alcohol played an important role date rape, hazing, and underage drinking to name a few. She also said that this situation made her want to tell her kids when they get older about alcohol how it gets abused.
After this incident of an SFA student dying LoStracco noticed that the whole college community took it seriously and cracked down even harder. People in the community realized that this is a problem and are doing many things to put it to and end. Awareness is one way of protecting the people. “Liability in this day and age is a big deal,” said Lostracco. More people are being held accountable for these alcoholic related crimes.
She also said alcohol crimes occur more frequently today then they did when she was growing up. It wasn’t something that officers were looking for as much. Now changes are being made almost every year. Looking back just a few years ago the punishment to for crimes were less compared to what happens now. LoStracco came from a background of lawyers in her family her father and godfather. She began law school at Texas Tech University. “I really enjoyed family law classes while I was in law school,” said LoStracco. Throughout her college career she visited her father in Hawaii over her breaks from school. After finishing college she was invited to come to Nacogdoches by her boyfriend at the time that she went to school with. LoStracco said she always liked to ride horses and it seemed like the place. LoStracco LoStracco said: “I never saw myself as much of a city girl. If you come back to a small town like Nacogdoches you have find your niche.” LoStracco described the opportunities in Nacogdoches for law.
LoStracco found her in a spot at the District Attorney’s office. When she started she was receiving paralegal pay but was promised in a year that her salary would increase to the position she was carrying. She did that for a few years and then took a job in Lufkin but the driving commute was too far distance. Today LoStracco is working toward becoming the District Attorney of Nacogdoches. She is running against Stephanie Stephen who currently holds the position. Lostracco was inspired by the many people of her city voicing their complaints and asking her to make the improvement. LoStracco believes that many problems that exist in within the judicial system of Nacogdoches can be fixed with her strategy.
“There’s a difference between being good lawyer and good office manager,” she said. Lostracco feels that the lawyers need good management. LoStracco says number of cases won by the city has decreased. The number of wins went from mid 80 percent to mid 50 percent. “There are some things that need to be changed in office,” she said.
“I’m probably one of the younger lawyers in town,” LoStracco said with a grin on her face. LoStracco, who some might consider looks young for her age 37 is dressed business casual in for the fall season wearing a black sweater, gray wool skirt and black boots. She is a mother of two James and Juliette. Wearing a light bang over her face “ I comfortable talking in front of big crowds,” LoStracco said with confidence. “I don’t want a job where I can’t say what I think.”
LoStracco, a republican who has her eye set on the prize being Nacogdoches next district attorney in 2009. If she does not get this position LoStracco said she will continue to do what she loves and that is practice law.
As assistant DA she specialized in child sexual assault cases. They were emotional to her because she has children of her own. Being in the law business for a while LoStracco said one can usually tell when a child is telling the truth. They have very graphic details. She also said when cases go so far in the judicial system the child is usually telling the truth.
Her advice to Ms. Bond’s class was to tell the lawyer the truth. The most truthful knowledge that is given to the lawyer, the better case they can build. She also said she will not represent someone who is dishonest.
Ten days before Nikolas’ death LoStracco had just given a speech to Stephen F. Austin’s student body. She explained to the students how alcoholic issue is a vector in criminal cases. LoStracco named many cases where alcohol played an important role date rape, hazing, and underage drinking to name a few. She also said that this situation made her want to tell her kids when they get older about alcohol how it gets abused.
After this incident of an SFA student dying LoStracco noticed that the whole college community took it seriously and cracked down even harder. People in the community realized that this is a problem and are doing many things to put it to and end. Awareness is one way of protecting the people. “Liability in this day and age is a big deal,” said Lostracco. More people are being held accountable for these alcoholic related crimes.
She also said alcohol crimes occur more frequently today then they did when she was growing up. It wasn’t something that officers were looking for as much. Now changes are being made almost every year. Looking back just a few years ago the punishment to for crimes were less compared to what happens now. LoStracco came from a background of lawyers in her family her father and godfather. She began law school at Texas Tech University. “I really enjoyed family law classes while I was in law school,” said LoStracco. Throughout her college career she visited her father in Hawaii over her breaks from school. After finishing college she was invited to come to Nacogdoches by her boyfriend at the time that she went to school with. LoStracco said she always liked to ride horses and it seemed like the place. LoStracco LoStracco said: “I never saw myself as much of a city girl. If you come back to a small town like Nacogdoches you have find your niche.” LoStracco described the opportunities in Nacogdoches for law.
LoStracco found her in a spot at the District Attorney’s office. When she started she was receiving paralegal pay but was promised in a year that her salary would increase to the position she was carrying. She did that for a few years and then took a job in Lufkin but the driving commute was too far distance. Today LoStracco is working toward becoming the District Attorney of Nacogdoches. She is running against Stephanie Stephen who currently holds the position. Lostracco was inspired by the many people of her city voicing their complaints and asking her to make the improvement. LoStracco believes that many problems that exist in within the judicial system of Nacogdoches can be fixed with her strategy.
“There’s a difference between being good lawyer and good office manager,” she said. Lostracco feels that the lawyers need good management. LoStracco says number of cases won by the city has decreased. The number of wins went from mid 80 percent to mid 50 percent. “There are some things that need to be changed in office,” she said.
“I’m probably one of the younger lawyers in town,” LoStracco said with a grin on her face. LoStracco, who some might consider looks young for her age 37 is dressed business casual in for the fall season wearing a black sweater, gray wool skirt and black boots. She is a mother of two James and Juliette. Wearing a light bang over her face “ I comfortable talking in front of big crowds,” LoStracco said with confidence. “I don’t want a job where I can’t say what I think.”
LoStracco, a republican who has her eye set on the prize being Nacogdoches next district attorney in 2009. If she does not get this position LoStracco said she will continue to do what she loves and that is practice law.
As assistant DA she specialized in child sexual assault cases. They were emotional to her because she has children of her own. Being in the law business for a while LoStracco said one can usually tell when a child is telling the truth. They have very graphic details. She also said when cases go so far in the judicial system the child is usually telling the truth.
Her advice to Ms. Bond’s class was to tell the lawyer the truth. The most truthful knowledge that is given to the lawyer, the better case they can build. She also said she will not represent someone who is dishonest.
LoStracco Interview - Angela Bradley
Nicole LoStracco, 37, is running as a Republican for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches. If elected she will take office in January 2009.
LoStracco received her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She served eight years as assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches. In 2004, LoStracco opened her own private criminal defense practice in Nacogdoches.
While serving as assistant district attorney, LoStracco worked with cases that involved violence against women. “Any cases that involved women and violence were directed to me,” she said. LoStracco also specialized in child psychology cases. “Children are amazingly resilient,” she said. “Children handle cases a whole lot better than their parents.” LoStracco also practiced family law for one year in Lufkin.
When LoStracco opened her private practice she made a big change from being a district prosecutor to being a criminal defense attorney. “People ask me how I can defend criminals,” she said. “As a defense attorney 99.9 percent of my clients did something wrong. Most the time my cases involve trying to get the jury or judge to come down on the charges.”
LoStracco also said that if she didn’t believe her clients were being truthful to her she wouldn’t defend them. She also said she would not defend child offenders. “I have two children now and that changes the way you feel about these cases,” she said.
When asked how she began to practice law LoStracco said, “There is a lot of law in my family. I never wanted to practice law, I just wound up there.” LoStracco studied mostly family law in school, which was what she found to be most interesting. When she moved to Nacogdoches she found that there weren’t very many positions available for a family law attorney. This pushed her toward applying for the assistant district attorney position available through Tim James, district attorney.
Not sure about this position, LoStracco was surprised to find that she enjoyed being the assistant district attorney. “I loved doing it,” she said about prosecuting. “There is a real team feeling.” She talked about the efforts combined between the district attorney’s office and the police force.
In the 2008 election, LoStracco will be running against Republican incumbent, Stephanie Stephens. “Me and Stephanie are friends,” said LoStracco, wanting to make it clear that she thinks Stephens is a good district attorney. “The reason I am running is because the numbers are down at the D.A. office.” LoStracco explained that there was an 80 percent win rate while she was working as the assistant district attorney. Now that win rate has dropped to 50 percent. “There is some managerial systems that need to be worked better,” LoStracco said. “There is a difference between being a good lawyer and a good office manager, and you have to do both.”
LoStracco has been invited to talk with students at Stephen F. Austin State University on many occasions. She was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training on Sept. 24, 2007. “I was given the good subjects; sex, drugs and alcohol,” she said. LoStracco hopes to start a program to let people know how to go about the judicial system once they have gotten in trouble. “Now you’re busted what should you do,” she said. LoStracco remembers what it was like to be a college student and loves getting involved in making students aware of the risks they face today.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco, California. She was raised in San Francisco as well as Belgium and Hawaii. She is married to James Robert LoStracco, with whom she owns a private law practice. They have two children, Juliette, 4, and James Robert, 2, (who they refer to as Trey).
“People say I look young for my age, although I don’t see it when I look in the mirror,” LoStracco said. She was a very down to earth woman, making fun remarks throughout the interview. LoStracco looked professional in her business casual black sweater and grey skirt, with her knee high black boots showing her lighter side.
There is not yet a Democrat district attorney running in 2008. As of now Nicole LoStracco and Stephanie Stephens are the only two on the ballet.
LoStracco received her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She served eight years as assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches. In 2004, LoStracco opened her own private criminal defense practice in Nacogdoches.
While serving as assistant district attorney, LoStracco worked with cases that involved violence against women. “Any cases that involved women and violence were directed to me,” she said. LoStracco also specialized in child psychology cases. “Children are amazingly resilient,” she said. “Children handle cases a whole lot better than their parents.” LoStracco also practiced family law for one year in Lufkin.
When LoStracco opened her private practice she made a big change from being a district prosecutor to being a criminal defense attorney. “People ask me how I can defend criminals,” she said. “As a defense attorney 99.9 percent of my clients did something wrong. Most the time my cases involve trying to get the jury or judge to come down on the charges.”
LoStracco also said that if she didn’t believe her clients were being truthful to her she wouldn’t defend them. She also said she would not defend child offenders. “I have two children now and that changes the way you feel about these cases,” she said.
When asked how she began to practice law LoStracco said, “There is a lot of law in my family. I never wanted to practice law, I just wound up there.” LoStracco studied mostly family law in school, which was what she found to be most interesting. When she moved to Nacogdoches she found that there weren’t very many positions available for a family law attorney. This pushed her toward applying for the assistant district attorney position available through Tim James, district attorney.
Not sure about this position, LoStracco was surprised to find that she enjoyed being the assistant district attorney. “I loved doing it,” she said about prosecuting. “There is a real team feeling.” She talked about the efforts combined between the district attorney’s office and the police force.
In the 2008 election, LoStracco will be running against Republican incumbent, Stephanie Stephens. “Me and Stephanie are friends,” said LoStracco, wanting to make it clear that she thinks Stephens is a good district attorney. “The reason I am running is because the numbers are down at the D.A. office.” LoStracco explained that there was an 80 percent win rate while she was working as the assistant district attorney. Now that win rate has dropped to 50 percent. “There is some managerial systems that need to be worked better,” LoStracco said. “There is a difference between being a good lawyer and a good office manager, and you have to do both.”
LoStracco has been invited to talk with students at Stephen F. Austin State University on many occasions. She was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training on Sept. 24, 2007. “I was given the good subjects; sex, drugs and alcohol,” she said. LoStracco hopes to start a program to let people know how to go about the judicial system once they have gotten in trouble. “Now you’re busted what should you do,” she said. LoStracco remembers what it was like to be a college student and loves getting involved in making students aware of the risks they face today.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco, California. She was raised in San Francisco as well as Belgium and Hawaii. She is married to James Robert LoStracco, with whom she owns a private law practice. They have two children, Juliette, 4, and James Robert, 2, (who they refer to as Trey).
“People say I look young for my age, although I don’t see it when I look in the mirror,” LoStracco said. She was a very down to earth woman, making fun remarks throughout the interview. LoStracco looked professional in her business casual black sweater and grey skirt, with her knee high black boots showing her lighter side.
There is not yet a Democrat district attorney running in 2008. As of now Nicole LoStracco and Stephanie Stephens are the only two on the ballet.
LoStracco Interview - Ryan Gest
Nicole LoStracco has seen the world, and now she’s running for office of district attorney of Nacogdoches.
LoStracco, 37, was born in San Francisco and lived in Belgium and Hawaii, and could be called a woman of the world. She was educated at Mills College in San Francisco, and received her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Soon after college she moved to Nacogdoches. “I never saw myself as a city girl,” said LoStracco. Her first practice was in Lufkin, but it didn’t last forever. She says that she didn’t like the commute even though it was easy compared to the same commute in a larger city that she had lived in before.
“I found out that there was a spot open at the district attorney’s office,” said LoStracco. She served as the assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches for eight years. “Any case that had a female victim was mine,” said LoStracco. She left the district attorney’s office in October of 2004 and moved to criminal defense.
“There are some cases that you’re just not willing to handle,” said LoStracco when talking about criminal defense.
LoStracco is running as a Republican for the district attorney of Nacogdoches. Her opponent is the current district attorney Stephanie Stephens. “The numbers are down at the DA’s office,” said LoStracco, “When I left the office was at a win rate” She said that it’s a staffing problem but the current district attorney is still doing a good job. “The DA works for the taxpayers,” she said, and many people have asked her to run for the office. If elected she will take office in January of 2009.
On Sept. 24, LoStracco was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training. Ten days after her speech, Nikolas Gallegos, a student a SFA died of alcohol poisoning. “Personally, I didn’t know much about the situation,” said LoStracco. “It was a program where there was a whole bunch of topics I had to talk about,” said LoStracco. Among the topics were “sex, drugs and alcohol. “You’ve got to have someone with a vibrant personality,” said LoStracco. She said that the average kid at a party could die one night and the whole community would crack down.
She said that the law enforcement of the past was not as serious, but no one can look the other way anymore.
Hazing is another topic she talked to students about. “SFA is taking hazing seriously,” said LoStracco. She talked about how the punishments for hazing are more harsh than in the past. She also would like to educate students of how to stay out of more trouble once they get into trouble.
“Date rape was another program we did about a month ago,” said LoStracco. She said that a lot of the cases she gets involve SFA students. There’s not a lot that she can do other than try to make the punishment lighter. LoStracco recommends that when students get into legal trouble of any kind to ask their parents for help, since they will find out eventually anyway.
LoStracco is a defense attorney in Nacogdoches. “I’m one of the younger lawyers in town,” she said. “I don’t see myself as a politician. So how did she end where she is today? She didn’t know what she wanted to do for a living. “Honestly, I needed a job,” said LoStracco, “I walked in and just loved it.”
She is married to James R. LoStracco and has two children, Juliett 4, and Trey, 2.
LoStracco, 37, was born in San Francisco and lived in Belgium and Hawaii, and could be called a woman of the world. She was educated at Mills College in San Francisco, and received her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Soon after college she moved to Nacogdoches. “I never saw myself as a city girl,” said LoStracco. Her first practice was in Lufkin, but it didn’t last forever. She says that she didn’t like the commute even though it was easy compared to the same commute in a larger city that she had lived in before.
“I found out that there was a spot open at the district attorney’s office,” said LoStracco. She served as the assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches for eight years. “Any case that had a female victim was mine,” said LoStracco. She left the district attorney’s office in October of 2004 and moved to criminal defense.
“There are some cases that you’re just not willing to handle,” said LoStracco when talking about criminal defense.
LoStracco is running as a Republican for the district attorney of Nacogdoches. Her opponent is the current district attorney Stephanie Stephens. “The numbers are down at the DA’s office,” said LoStracco, “When I left the office was at a win rate” She said that it’s a staffing problem but the current district attorney is still doing a good job. “The DA works for the taxpayers,” she said, and many people have asked her to run for the office. If elected she will take office in January of 2009.
On Sept. 24, LoStracco was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training. Ten days after her speech, Nikolas Gallegos, a student a SFA died of alcohol poisoning. “Personally, I didn’t know much about the situation,” said LoStracco. “It was a program where there was a whole bunch of topics I had to talk about,” said LoStracco. Among the topics were “sex, drugs and alcohol. “You’ve got to have someone with a vibrant personality,” said LoStracco. She said that the average kid at a party could die one night and the whole community would crack down.
She said that the law enforcement of the past was not as serious, but no one can look the other way anymore.
Hazing is another topic she talked to students about. “SFA is taking hazing seriously,” said LoStracco. She talked about how the punishments for hazing are more harsh than in the past. She also would like to educate students of how to stay out of more trouble once they get into trouble.
“Date rape was another program we did about a month ago,” said LoStracco. She said that a lot of the cases she gets involve SFA students. There’s not a lot that she can do other than try to make the punishment lighter. LoStracco recommends that when students get into legal trouble of any kind to ask their parents for help, since they will find out eventually anyway.
LoStracco is a defense attorney in Nacogdoches. “I’m one of the younger lawyers in town,” she said. “I don’t see myself as a politician. So how did she end where she is today? She didn’t know what she wanted to do for a living. “Honestly, I needed a job,” said LoStracco, “I walked in and just loved it.”
She is married to James R. LoStracco and has two children, Juliett 4, and Trey, 2.
LoStracco Interview - Doc Smith
When people look at TV and see a commercial that has to do with lawyers, Nicole LoStracco, 37, does not come to mind. But when it has something to do with the people of Nacogdoches and the students at SFA, she is right on top of it. Law is a way of life for Mrs. LoStracco, and she would rather keep it that way.
Born in San Francisco, California, LoStracco lives a normal life. Also living in Hawaii and the European country of Belgium, she is accustomed to new things. Her journey started at Mills College in the Bay Area and ended with her law degree at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “I graduated from Texas Tech in six months with my law degree,” she said.
She started her legal career in Lufkin practicing child custody law and divorce. After a year, she quit the job there. “ I did not know what I wanted to do and I wound up in law school. I wanted to do family law,” she said. Tim James, who is recognizable in Nacogdoches, offered her a job as a paralegal. While working for James, she was involved with violence against women cases and child sex abuse cases for a few years. “I will not do child sex offense cases based on my judgment call,” she said.
She currently is involved with Dr. Peggy Scott and Beverly Farmer of the judicial council here at SFA. “You are young and do not know your rights to the fullest,” she said. She is actively involved also with the student organizations on campus dealing with sex, drugs and alcohol. She recently spoke to SFA students about risk management on September 24, 2007. Ten days later, Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning at a fraternity party.
“Treat college kids as adults,” she said. She was also a speaker at a date rape prevention program this year.
After working for James for eight years, she left the district attorney’s office and opened up her own law firm. She is now a defense lawyer and does criminal defense work. Now she is running for the district attorney’s office of Nacogdoches County on the Republican platform, as is her opponent Stephanie Stephens, who is currently serving as the DA.
Mrs. LoStracco is married to James R. LoStracco, who she met while attending law school at Texas Tech. She is also a mother of two children, daughter Juliette, 4 and son Trey (James R. LoStracco III), who will be 2 this month. Standing tall in a long black skirt and grey sweater, people can hire LoStracco if in trouble.
Born in San Francisco, California, LoStracco lives a normal life. Also living in Hawaii and the European country of Belgium, she is accustomed to new things. Her journey started at Mills College in the Bay Area and ended with her law degree at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “I graduated from Texas Tech in six months with my law degree,” she said.
She started her legal career in Lufkin practicing child custody law and divorce. After a year, she quit the job there. “ I did not know what I wanted to do and I wound up in law school. I wanted to do family law,” she said. Tim James, who is recognizable in Nacogdoches, offered her a job as a paralegal. While working for James, she was involved with violence against women cases and child sex abuse cases for a few years. “I will not do child sex offense cases based on my judgment call,” she said.
She currently is involved with Dr. Peggy Scott and Beverly Farmer of the judicial council here at SFA. “You are young and do not know your rights to the fullest,” she said. She is actively involved also with the student organizations on campus dealing with sex, drugs and alcohol. She recently spoke to SFA students about risk management on September 24, 2007. Ten days later, Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning at a fraternity party.
“Treat college kids as adults,” she said. She was also a speaker at a date rape prevention program this year.
After working for James for eight years, she left the district attorney’s office and opened up her own law firm. She is now a defense lawyer and does criminal defense work. Now she is running for the district attorney’s office of Nacogdoches County on the Republican platform, as is her opponent Stephanie Stephens, who is currently serving as the DA.
Mrs. LoStracco is married to James R. LoStracco, who she met while attending law school at Texas Tech. She is also a mother of two children, daughter Juliette, 4 and son Trey (James R. LoStracco III), who will be 2 this month. Standing tall in a long black skirt and grey sweater, people can hire LoStracco if in trouble.
LoStracco Interview - NyJa Stevenson
“I get the exciting topics like sex, drugs and alcohol,” Nicole LoStracco said as she explained her involvement with Stephen F. Austin State University. LoStracco is a local attorney who frequently gives lectures on the legal procedures and consequences that can occur when students face charges such as drinking under the influence, hazing, rape, assault, or theft.
Prosecuting, defending and lecturing, LoStracco has played an active roll in the welfare of the Nacogdoches community. Now, she is campaigning for the District Attorney position in Nacogdoches county.
LoStracco’s journey to becoming a candidate for the district attorney position began over 10 years ago. After she graduated from Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university in her hometown of San Francisco, she entered law school at Texas Tech University. Although she can’t recall the ultimate factor in her decision to pursue law, she said, “I have law in my family.” LoStracco’s father and godfather were both attorneys, which sparked her interest in law.
After taking a few classes at the university, she focused on a specialization in family law, which includes divorce and custody disputes. “I just really liked the classes on family law,” she said. While attending Texas Tech she met her husband, James R. Lostracco, a native of Nacogdoches.
After graduation and marriage, the couple moved to Nacogdoches. LoStracco couldn’t find work as a family law attorney. “The openings for a family attorney in a small town are limited,” she said. She ended up accepting a position in the district attorney’s office under Tim James, the then district attorney.
LoStracco prosecuted for women’s violence cases for three years. She then began concentrating on child assault cases for the next eight years.
In 2004 she left the district attorney’s office to become a criminal defense lawyer. Some people may find the switch ironic, but LoStracco thinks it was beneficial. She knows the tactics and can anticipate the goals of a prosecutor, which can help her be a better defender.
“All cases can’t be tried,” she said, “Many plea bargain. The fight I often go into as a defense attorney is lessening the punishment.”
The only challenge she found in being a defense lawyer is deciding what she is willing to handle or who she will represent. “I will not defend child sex offenders. I have two small children,” she said.
Two years ago she chose to run for District Attorney. “People came to me asking my opinion on what was happing with our court system,” she said. In a roundabout way, various people suggested that she run for the office. “I thought they were joking,” she said. But the people were serious and it forced her to take a look at the court system.
The numbers and the managerial decisions prompted her to run for the position. “The win rate numbers are low and certain managerial decisions could be made better,” she said. Although LoStracco doesn’t doubt the capability of the current district attorney, she said, “There is a difference in being a good lawyer and managing the office.”
Unlike many political races, both candidates are Republican and are working together to maintain a clean campaign. “We don’t want to make this a personal attack,” she said. If elected, LoStracco will take office in January 2009.
Prosecuting, defending and lecturing, LoStracco has played an active roll in the welfare of the Nacogdoches community. Now, she is campaigning for the District Attorney position in Nacogdoches county.
LoStracco’s journey to becoming a candidate for the district attorney position began over 10 years ago. After she graduated from Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university in her hometown of San Francisco, she entered law school at Texas Tech University. Although she can’t recall the ultimate factor in her decision to pursue law, she said, “I have law in my family.” LoStracco’s father and godfather were both attorneys, which sparked her interest in law.
After taking a few classes at the university, she focused on a specialization in family law, which includes divorce and custody disputes. “I just really liked the classes on family law,” she said. While attending Texas Tech she met her husband, James R. Lostracco, a native of Nacogdoches.
After graduation and marriage, the couple moved to Nacogdoches. LoStracco couldn’t find work as a family law attorney. “The openings for a family attorney in a small town are limited,” she said. She ended up accepting a position in the district attorney’s office under Tim James, the then district attorney.
LoStracco prosecuted for women’s violence cases for three years. She then began concentrating on child assault cases for the next eight years.
In 2004 she left the district attorney’s office to become a criminal defense lawyer. Some people may find the switch ironic, but LoStracco thinks it was beneficial. She knows the tactics and can anticipate the goals of a prosecutor, which can help her be a better defender.
“All cases can’t be tried,” she said, “Many plea bargain. The fight I often go into as a defense attorney is lessening the punishment.”
The only challenge she found in being a defense lawyer is deciding what she is willing to handle or who she will represent. “I will not defend child sex offenders. I have two small children,” she said.
Two years ago she chose to run for District Attorney. “People came to me asking my opinion on what was happing with our court system,” she said. In a roundabout way, various people suggested that she run for the office. “I thought they were joking,” she said. But the people were serious and it forced her to take a look at the court system.
The numbers and the managerial decisions prompted her to run for the position. “The win rate numbers are low and certain managerial decisions could be made better,” she said. Although LoStracco doesn’t doubt the capability of the current district attorney, she said, “There is a difference in being a good lawyer and managing the office.”
Unlike many political races, both candidates are Republican and are working together to maintain a clean campaign. “We don’t want to make this a personal attack,” she said. If elected, LoStracco will take office in January 2009.
LoStracco Interview - Marie Leonard
Nicole LoStracco spoke at SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24, which covered topics such as fire hazards, alcohol and hazing. Ten days later, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning.
“Emotionally I had to look at it from the viewpoints of the parents. You feel for the friends, you feel for the family,” LoStracco said.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco, but when she was two years old her father was transferred to Brussels, Belgium. Upon her return to the United States she attended Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university in San Francisco. After graduating from Mills, LoStracco chose to attend Texas Tech University to attend law school. She met her husband at Tech, and he asked her to come back to Nacogdoches with him after she graduated. LoStracco graduated six months early from law school, and got married a few months after she graduated.
When she moved to Nacogdoches, LoStracco realized she did not have many options to choose from when picking a law firm. “If you come back to a small town like Nacogdoches, you go where the niche is,” she said. LoStracco wound up in Lufkin for her first year here, and fell into family law. After the first year she decided she did not like the commute and found a job in Nacogdoches.
LoStracco decided to go to work at the district attorney’s office in Nacogdoches, and landed a job as a prosecutor for violence against women. She spent about three years doing that, and wound up specializing in child sexual assault cases.
In the mean time, her husband, James R. LoStracco, was building up a family law practice. In October of 2004 he left the DA’s office and opened a criminal defense practice. When asked about what cases she chooses to work on, LoStracco replied by saying, “There are some cases you’re just not willing to handle. Your personality won’t work with a client’s personality. All the skeletons in the closet need to come out to your lawyer.”
LoStracco is planning to run against incumbent Stephanie Stephens for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches next year. When asked why she wants to reenter the DAs office, LoStracco replied by saying she was told by people in the county that there are many problems at the DA office currently. A few years ago the DA office was winning trials at an 80 percent rate, but now it is down to a 50 percent rate. She has also been told of managerial problems in the district attorney’s office. “One of the hardest things is managing people, is being the boss. Firing is the hardest thing you can do in the work world,” LoStracco said.
She believes she was chosen to speak at SFA because, “There’s nothing worse than having a speaker coming in and is nervous about speaking in front of a crowd,” she said. I don’t see myself as a politician. I don’t want a job where I can’t say what I think.” LoStracco wants to help the younger generation learn their rights because she believes it is not fair for the state to win a case because the person who was accused of an offense does not know their rights.
LoStracco said, “I think it’s hard for anybody to understand hazing. It’s tough to understand that somebody could succumb to peer pressure so badly they would haze themselves.” Universities have begun to take hazing more seriously over the past couple decades. “Getting into med school with an alcohol offense on your record is a big deal,” LoStracco said.
The subject of hazing is discussed in every organization on the SFA campus, and university officials take it very seriously. LoStracco said, “The criminal justice system is looking for some kind of injury to someone, but just embarrassing someone can get someone accused of hazing at the university level.”
When she was in high school and college hazing was treated differently. “I can’t remember a single friend who went through the law enforcement process for a DWI when I was in high school or college,” she said. Over the past couple decades universities have changed their policy statements and ideologies about the subject of hazing. LoStracco is trying to help college students become better educated about the choices they make, and help them better learn how to deal with the consequences of their actions.
“Emotionally I had to look at it from the viewpoints of the parents. You feel for the friends, you feel for the family,” LoStracco said.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco, but when she was two years old her father was transferred to Brussels, Belgium. Upon her return to the United States she attended Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university in San Francisco. After graduating from Mills, LoStracco chose to attend Texas Tech University to attend law school. She met her husband at Tech, and he asked her to come back to Nacogdoches with him after she graduated. LoStracco graduated six months early from law school, and got married a few months after she graduated.
When she moved to Nacogdoches, LoStracco realized she did not have many options to choose from when picking a law firm. “If you come back to a small town like Nacogdoches, you go where the niche is,” she said. LoStracco wound up in Lufkin for her first year here, and fell into family law. After the first year she decided she did not like the commute and found a job in Nacogdoches.
LoStracco decided to go to work at the district attorney’s office in Nacogdoches, and landed a job as a prosecutor for violence against women. She spent about three years doing that, and wound up specializing in child sexual assault cases.
In the mean time, her husband, James R. LoStracco, was building up a family law practice. In October of 2004 he left the DA’s office and opened a criminal defense practice. When asked about what cases she chooses to work on, LoStracco replied by saying, “There are some cases you’re just not willing to handle. Your personality won’t work with a client’s personality. All the skeletons in the closet need to come out to your lawyer.”
LoStracco is planning to run against incumbent Stephanie Stephens for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches next year. When asked why she wants to reenter the DAs office, LoStracco replied by saying she was told by people in the county that there are many problems at the DA office currently. A few years ago the DA office was winning trials at an 80 percent rate, but now it is down to a 50 percent rate. She has also been told of managerial problems in the district attorney’s office. “One of the hardest things is managing people, is being the boss. Firing is the hardest thing you can do in the work world,” LoStracco said.
She believes she was chosen to speak at SFA because, “There’s nothing worse than having a speaker coming in and is nervous about speaking in front of a crowd,” she said. I don’t see myself as a politician. I don’t want a job where I can’t say what I think.” LoStracco wants to help the younger generation learn their rights because she believes it is not fair for the state to win a case because the person who was accused of an offense does not know their rights.
LoStracco said, “I think it’s hard for anybody to understand hazing. It’s tough to understand that somebody could succumb to peer pressure so badly they would haze themselves.” Universities have begun to take hazing more seriously over the past couple decades. “Getting into med school with an alcohol offense on your record is a big deal,” LoStracco said.
The subject of hazing is discussed in every organization on the SFA campus, and university officials take it very seriously. LoStracco said, “The criminal justice system is looking for some kind of injury to someone, but just embarrassing someone can get someone accused of hazing at the university level.”
When she was in high school and college hazing was treated differently. “I can’t remember a single friend who went through the law enforcement process for a DWI when I was in high school or college,” she said. Over the past couple decades universities have changed their policy statements and ideologies about the subject of hazing. LoStracco is trying to help college students become better educated about the choices they make, and help them better learn how to deal with the consequences of their actions.
LoStracco Interview - Sherraud Boyd
Nicole LoStracco, 37, is running as a Republican for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches. If elected she would take office in January of 2009.
She was an assistant district attorney for eight years, but resigned in 2004 to start her own private practice. Before LoStracco resigned from assistant district attorney, their wins on cases were in the mid 80 percentile. The have declined over the past few years to the low 50 percentile.
“A lot of people from the community asked me to go run for district attorney,” said LoStracco. At first she laughed about it but then had a change of opinion.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco as well as Belgium and Hawaii. She spent many school breaks in Hawaii with her father. She graduated from Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university, in San Francisco. She received her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “ I went to Tech and loved it,” said LoStracco. She also spent 18 months in Spain for college.
While at Texas Tech, she met the man who would become her husband, James R. LoStracco. At first, Mrs. LoStracco did not know what kind of lawyer she wanted to be or if she even wanted to be a lawyer at all. “My dad was a lawyer and my grandfather was a lawyer. It was a lot of law in my family,” said LoStracco. She thought she wanted to do family law.
She actually wound up in Lufkin for her first practice. When she looked for a job in Nacogdoches, the only job for her was with the district attorney. “I didn’t know anything about working with the DA,” said LoStracco.
As assistant to the district attorney, LoStracco’s cases dealt with violence against women. In October of 2004, she left the district attorney’s office to open up her own private practice. and became a criminal defense attorney.
“Criminal defense lawyers try to get a lesser punishment from the judge and jury towards their client,” said LoStracco. She feels that all skeletons need to come out the closet when someone convicted of a crime talks to their lawyer. “I won’t defend someone if I don’t believe there are not being honest,” said LoStracco.
She also realized as a criminal defense attorney that not all cases cannot be tried. “Most of the cases end in reaching a plea bargain,” said LoStracco. As a matter of fact, she said there is a higher number of plea bargains in this field of law.
LoStracco will not defend clients in child/sexual abuse cases. “It’s pretty easy to tell if a child is telling a story or not,” said LoStracco.
Ms. LoStracco spoke to over 1,000 college students at SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24 of this year. Her topics were sex, drugs, and alcohol. She cleared up an urban myth about date rape. “ If someone is so drunk to they can’t consent then you can be accused of rape,” said LoStracco.
Alcohol was also a big thing she talked about. In her time, alcohol was not such a big problem as it is now. “Alcohol is a real big issue in college and around the world,” said LoStracco. She stresses that when someone gets in trouble with the law about alcohol related issues, they should hire a lawyer otherwise things will not go as they hoped it would. The best thing to do is to try to avoid the whole thing period. “Do not work on your own when trying to fight an alcohol charge,” said LoStracco. Things will only get worse.
Ten days after the training, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning. This really upset LoStracco because she feels that people just do not get. “If people drink too much they will die,” she said. “You treat college students like adults but they still don’t get it.”
She is a mother of two: daughter Juliette, four and a half and son Trey who will turn two this month. “I’m scared because I don’t know how to warn my children about that,” said LoStracco.
She decided to run for district attorney a year ago. Her opponent is Stephanie Stephens, the current district attorney.
Nicole LoStracco is a very approachable person who is very intellectual and quick witted. “I’m not nervous about speaking in front of crowds,” she said. She does not view herself as a politician and does not sugarcoat things.
She was an assistant district attorney for eight years, but resigned in 2004 to start her own private practice. Before LoStracco resigned from assistant district attorney, their wins on cases were in the mid 80 percentile. The have declined over the past few years to the low 50 percentile.
“A lot of people from the community asked me to go run for district attorney,” said LoStracco. At first she laughed about it but then had a change of opinion.
LoStracco was born in San Francisco as well as Belgium and Hawaii. She spent many school breaks in Hawaii with her father. She graduated from Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university, in San Francisco. She received her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “ I went to Tech and loved it,” said LoStracco. She also spent 18 months in Spain for college.
While at Texas Tech, she met the man who would become her husband, James R. LoStracco. At first, Mrs. LoStracco did not know what kind of lawyer she wanted to be or if she even wanted to be a lawyer at all. “My dad was a lawyer and my grandfather was a lawyer. It was a lot of law in my family,” said LoStracco. She thought she wanted to do family law.
She actually wound up in Lufkin for her first practice. When she looked for a job in Nacogdoches, the only job for her was with the district attorney. “I didn’t know anything about working with the DA,” said LoStracco.
As assistant to the district attorney, LoStracco’s cases dealt with violence against women. In October of 2004, she left the district attorney’s office to open up her own private practice. and became a criminal defense attorney.
“Criminal defense lawyers try to get a lesser punishment from the judge and jury towards their client,” said LoStracco. She feels that all skeletons need to come out the closet when someone convicted of a crime talks to their lawyer. “I won’t defend someone if I don’t believe there are not being honest,” said LoStracco.
She also realized as a criminal defense attorney that not all cases cannot be tried. “Most of the cases end in reaching a plea bargain,” said LoStracco. As a matter of fact, she said there is a higher number of plea bargains in this field of law.
LoStracco will not defend clients in child/sexual abuse cases. “It’s pretty easy to tell if a child is telling a story or not,” said LoStracco.
Ms. LoStracco spoke to over 1,000 college students at SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24 of this year. Her topics were sex, drugs, and alcohol. She cleared up an urban myth about date rape. “ If someone is so drunk to they can’t consent then you can be accused of rape,” said LoStracco.
Alcohol was also a big thing she talked about. In her time, alcohol was not such a big problem as it is now. “Alcohol is a real big issue in college and around the world,” said LoStracco. She stresses that when someone gets in trouble with the law about alcohol related issues, they should hire a lawyer otherwise things will not go as they hoped it would. The best thing to do is to try to avoid the whole thing period. “Do not work on your own when trying to fight an alcohol charge,” said LoStracco. Things will only get worse.
Ten days after the training, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning. This really upset LoStracco because she feels that people just do not get. “If people drink too much they will die,” she said. “You treat college students like adults but they still don’t get it.”
She is a mother of two: daughter Juliette, four and a half and son Trey who will turn two this month. “I’m scared because I don’t know how to warn my children about that,” said LoStracco.
She decided to run for district attorney a year ago. Her opponent is Stephanie Stephens, the current district attorney.
Nicole LoStracco is a very approachable person who is very intellectual and quick witted. “I’m not nervous about speaking in front of crowds,” she said. She does not view herself as a politician and does not sugarcoat things.
LoStracco Interview - Justin Spears
Nicole LoStracco, 37, is running as a Republican for office District Attorney in Nacogdoches in March.She served eight years as assistant district attorney in Nacogdoches under Tim James. In 2004, she resigned from this position and opened her own criminal defense practice.
“People were wondering why I was going from prosecuting criminals to defending criminals,” said LoStracco. LoStaracco was born in San Francisco, but moved to Belgium when she was two. “We were suppose to move for only two years, but we moved back to San Francisco in time for third grade,” said LoStracco.
When it came time for LoStracco to graduate from high school, she remained undecided about what college to attend. Shortly after graduating, she chose Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university, in San Francisco.
“When I moved to college, my parents moved to Honolulu, Hawaii,” said LoStracco. “I visited them for a month and a half during Christmas break and three months during the summer.”
After graduating from Mills College, she decided to attend Texas Tech University Lubbock to receive her law degree. “Choosing law school was hard,” said LoStracco, “but I had a boyfriend who stayed in Amarillo and it made my choice easier.”
She is no longer with the guy she relocated to Texas for; however, she is now married to James R. LoStracco, of Nacogdoches.
“I met James during my junior year of law school,” said Nicole. “He was a year behind me, so he graduated before me.”
Nicole sped up the process of graduating and within six months, she also had a law degree from Texas Tech University.
“James was from Nacogdoches and said that if I wanted, I could move in with him in Nacogdoches,” said Nicole. “So I followed him here and we’ve been together ever since.”
Nicole studied family law in college, but found that there was no opportunity to have a family law practice in Nacogdoches. She decided to commute to Lufkin for her first year of practice. After a year, she quit that job to work closer to her family, but there was one problem: she had no where to work just yet.
She discovered the District Attorney’s office was searching for an assistant district attorney. Tim James, the district attorney at the time, gave her pay that was reserved for a paralegal. After she took the job, he assured her that the pay would be raised to the appropriate level the next year. She handled cases on battered women.
In October 2004, she left the District Attorney’s office and opened her private criminal defense practice in Nacogdoches.
“The only think that I had to realize when I became a defense attorney was that all cases cannot be tried in court,” said Nicole. “Most of the cases end by reaching a plea bargain.”
Nicole was one of the speakers in a SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24 about sex, drugs, and alcohol. She immediately captured the audience’s attention when she mentioned her topic. All Greek organizations were there along with some other organizations to take part in this training.
Ten days after her talk with the students, Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning. Immediately following the death of Gallegos, LoStracco visited campus again to speak with students about alcohol and hazing. Nicole looks at deaths from alcohol from the perspective of parents, because she is a parent.
“I am scared because I don’t know who to warn my children about situations like that,” said LoStracco. Nicole stresses that when someone gets in trouble with the law regarding alcohol, should hire a lawyer. “Do not work on your own when trying to fight an alcohol charge,” said Nicole. “You will screw up your permanent record in some shape or form.”
Nicole said there is a big difference between how the criminal justice system and the universities define hazing. “The university believes if you feel uncomfortable in a situation to make you join an organization, it can be considered hazing,” said Nicole. “The criminal justice systems believes you were injured or threatened to do something you wouldn’t normally do is hazing.”
Nicole is running for District Attorney in March against the incumbent, Stephanie Stephens, Republican. The primary will be March 4, 2008. Since there is no Democratic opponent, the winner of the primary will be the winner of the general election also. The winner will take office in January 2009.
Nicole LoStracco wore professional clothing. She shared her stand on issues and gave reasons why people approach her.
“I believe I am easily approachable,” said LoStracco. “I’m not nervous about speaking to large crowds.”
LoStracco resides in Nacogdoches with her husband, James and 2 children: Juliett, 4, and Trey, 2.
“People were wondering why I was going from prosecuting criminals to defending criminals,” said LoStracco. LoStaracco was born in San Francisco, but moved to Belgium when she was two. “We were suppose to move for only two years, but we moved back to San Francisco in time for third grade,” said LoStracco.
When it came time for LoStracco to graduate from high school, she remained undecided about what college to attend. Shortly after graduating, she chose Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university, in San Francisco.
“When I moved to college, my parents moved to Honolulu, Hawaii,” said LoStracco. “I visited them for a month and a half during Christmas break and three months during the summer.”
After graduating from Mills College, she decided to attend Texas Tech University Lubbock to receive her law degree. “Choosing law school was hard,” said LoStracco, “but I had a boyfriend who stayed in Amarillo and it made my choice easier.”
She is no longer with the guy she relocated to Texas for; however, she is now married to James R. LoStracco, of Nacogdoches.
“I met James during my junior year of law school,” said Nicole. “He was a year behind me, so he graduated before me.”
Nicole sped up the process of graduating and within six months, she also had a law degree from Texas Tech University.
“James was from Nacogdoches and said that if I wanted, I could move in with him in Nacogdoches,” said Nicole. “So I followed him here and we’ve been together ever since.”
Nicole studied family law in college, but found that there was no opportunity to have a family law practice in Nacogdoches. She decided to commute to Lufkin for her first year of practice. After a year, she quit that job to work closer to her family, but there was one problem: she had no where to work just yet.
She discovered the District Attorney’s office was searching for an assistant district attorney. Tim James, the district attorney at the time, gave her pay that was reserved for a paralegal. After she took the job, he assured her that the pay would be raised to the appropriate level the next year. She handled cases on battered women.
In October 2004, she left the District Attorney’s office and opened her private criminal defense practice in Nacogdoches.
“The only think that I had to realize when I became a defense attorney was that all cases cannot be tried in court,” said Nicole. “Most of the cases end by reaching a plea bargain.”
Nicole was one of the speakers in a SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24 about sex, drugs, and alcohol. She immediately captured the audience’s attention when she mentioned her topic. All Greek organizations were there along with some other organizations to take part in this training.
Ten days after her talk with the students, Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning. Immediately following the death of Gallegos, LoStracco visited campus again to speak with students about alcohol and hazing. Nicole looks at deaths from alcohol from the perspective of parents, because she is a parent.
“I am scared because I don’t know who to warn my children about situations like that,” said LoStracco. Nicole stresses that when someone gets in trouble with the law regarding alcohol, should hire a lawyer. “Do not work on your own when trying to fight an alcohol charge,” said Nicole. “You will screw up your permanent record in some shape or form.”
Nicole said there is a big difference between how the criminal justice system and the universities define hazing. “The university believes if you feel uncomfortable in a situation to make you join an organization, it can be considered hazing,” said Nicole. “The criminal justice systems believes you were injured or threatened to do something you wouldn’t normally do is hazing.”
Nicole is running for District Attorney in March against the incumbent, Stephanie Stephens, Republican. The primary will be March 4, 2008. Since there is no Democratic opponent, the winner of the primary will be the winner of the general election also. The winner will take office in January 2009.
Nicole LoStracco wore professional clothing. She shared her stand on issues and gave reasons why people approach her.
“I believe I am easily approachable,” said LoStracco. “I’m not nervous about speaking to large crowds.”
LoStracco resides in Nacogdoches with her husband, James and 2 children: Juliett, 4, and Trey, 2.
LoStracco Interview - Sam Arnold
Nicole LoStracco, local defense attorney and current republican candidate for the District Attorney’s position in Nacogdoches County, has become a formidable asset to the community as an active voice in the line of women’s and child abuse.
LoStracco has been a citizen of the Nacogdoches community for well over 15 years, having come to the Piney Woods of East Texas upon receiving her law degree from the Texas Tech University Law School, which ranks high annually in the nations ranking of law programs. LoStracco even managed to graduate six months early from the program. her reason being her husband James R. LoStracco, a Nacogdoches native, is also a graduate of Texas Tech Law School, with whom she has two children, Juliette 4, and Trey 2. “I can’t remember why I applied to law school, but my father and godfather are both involved in law, so I suppose that may have been a part of it.”
With her light brown hair and fairly dark complexion, LoStracco originally hails from the capital of west coast glamour, San Francisco. Her father relocated early on in her life to the essence of Europe itself, Brussels, Belgium. She spent five years of her life overseas, until finally moving back to San Francisco where she would rode the remainder of her high school career. LoStracco received her undergraduate degree from Mills College in Oakland, a liberal arts women’s university, and a school considered to be one of the top three universities for undergraduates within the state of California.
Despite her nativity in the fast paced city life, she has never considered herself at home in the city, she said “I was never a city girl, I have always been an avid horseback rider, and outdoors person.” These, among other reasons, were why she chose the state of Texas to receive her law degree, and finally settle down for good in Nacogdoches.
LoStracco began her law career in Lufkin practicing family law. After a year, she began working as a district attorney’s assistant. At the time, her position was not funded as an attorney, and received a paralegals pay. She spent three years prosecuting, the majority of her cases involving women abuse, and child sexual assault.
“It was very satisfying, I admit to being emotional at times, but at the end of the day, helping the people who need it satisfies me the most,” she said. On the subject of children’s cases, she said “For whatever reason, children are often easier to work with in the court rooms as they have no reason to hide anything once on the stand.”
In October 2004, LoStracco switched sides when she opened her own law practice, which handles criminal defense. She admits that her new line of work is very challenging, as she tries to garner the best sentence possible for the people she represents.
Upon discussing her law firm she said “People usually come in and admit to it, and we try to get the best possible deal for the crime. Hopefully we can convince the judge or jury to lessen the blow on punishments.” This sort of focus requires her to know the intimate details of a crime, and not all cases are accepted on her behalf, she said “If a clients personality clashes with my own, I normally will not accept their case, as I need to be able to work with a client in order to help them. All the secrets, and all the skeletons in closet must be brought forth, in order for me to do anything at all.” She admittedly does not handle child defense, but has secured several child abuse cases. Referring back to her days working in the D.A.’s office, she said “It’s very easy to tell what is going on when a child tells their side of the story.”
Not only is Lostracco active in the Nacogdoches law arena, she has spear-headed several on campus presentations, discussing the dangers of rock and roll’s greatest hits, “Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol” as well as speaking against the archaic hazing rituals new fraternity members go through, and the circumstance of date rape as well. Never shy, or at a loss for words, LoStracco said, “There is nothing worse than a nervous speaker. I will say anything, I am fearless if you will.”
Her approach to these societal taboos has been met with critical acclaim, as there are few subjects absent from her speeches. Her west coast personality may be a factor in these programs, as she said, “I am very approachable and laid back.”
She hopes to educate the student body as a whole as far as their legal rights are concerned. “Many students don’t know what not to do when dealing with the police.” She wishes to engage in a program that would help students in this realm of the law, even going so far as to teach students how to clean up a less than stellar record.
With her roots in law as a child, and moving up through the ranks as a successful prosecutor, as well as a defense attorney, she now has her eye on the seat of District Attorney.
LoStracco said “When I first began in the D.A’s office we were averaging 70 percent on all of our cases in the win column. Since then, the numbers have steadily declined.”
She is currently running an amicable and clean campaign against the current incumbent, as they are real life friends outside of the political stage. LoStracco gives credit the citizens of Nacogdoches for urging her on to take up the position. If she however is unsuccessful in her campaign, she will continue working steadily, representing those in need of a good defense. She does not consider herself a politician, but feels she is more than capable of representing the taxpayers of this community.
LoStracco has been a citizen of the Nacogdoches community for well over 15 years, having come to the Piney Woods of East Texas upon receiving her law degree from the Texas Tech University Law School, which ranks high annually in the nations ranking of law programs. LoStracco even managed to graduate six months early from the program. her reason being her husband James R. LoStracco, a Nacogdoches native, is also a graduate of Texas Tech Law School, with whom she has two children, Juliette 4, and Trey 2. “I can’t remember why I applied to law school, but my father and godfather are both involved in law, so I suppose that may have been a part of it.”
With her light brown hair and fairly dark complexion, LoStracco originally hails from the capital of west coast glamour, San Francisco. Her father relocated early on in her life to the essence of Europe itself, Brussels, Belgium. She spent five years of her life overseas, until finally moving back to San Francisco where she would rode the remainder of her high school career. LoStracco received her undergraduate degree from Mills College in Oakland, a liberal arts women’s university, and a school considered to be one of the top three universities for undergraduates within the state of California.
Despite her nativity in the fast paced city life, she has never considered herself at home in the city, she said “I was never a city girl, I have always been an avid horseback rider, and outdoors person.” These, among other reasons, were why she chose the state of Texas to receive her law degree, and finally settle down for good in Nacogdoches.
LoStracco began her law career in Lufkin practicing family law. After a year, she began working as a district attorney’s assistant. At the time, her position was not funded as an attorney, and received a paralegals pay. She spent three years prosecuting, the majority of her cases involving women abuse, and child sexual assault.
“It was very satisfying, I admit to being emotional at times, but at the end of the day, helping the people who need it satisfies me the most,” she said. On the subject of children’s cases, she said “For whatever reason, children are often easier to work with in the court rooms as they have no reason to hide anything once on the stand.”
In October 2004, LoStracco switched sides when she opened her own law practice, which handles criminal defense. She admits that her new line of work is very challenging, as she tries to garner the best sentence possible for the people she represents.
Upon discussing her law firm she said “People usually come in and admit to it, and we try to get the best possible deal for the crime. Hopefully we can convince the judge or jury to lessen the blow on punishments.” This sort of focus requires her to know the intimate details of a crime, and not all cases are accepted on her behalf, she said “If a clients personality clashes with my own, I normally will not accept their case, as I need to be able to work with a client in order to help them. All the secrets, and all the skeletons in closet must be brought forth, in order for me to do anything at all.” She admittedly does not handle child defense, but has secured several child abuse cases. Referring back to her days working in the D.A.’s office, she said “It’s very easy to tell what is going on when a child tells their side of the story.”
Not only is Lostracco active in the Nacogdoches law arena, she has spear-headed several on campus presentations, discussing the dangers of rock and roll’s greatest hits, “Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol” as well as speaking against the archaic hazing rituals new fraternity members go through, and the circumstance of date rape as well. Never shy, or at a loss for words, LoStracco said, “There is nothing worse than a nervous speaker. I will say anything, I am fearless if you will.”
Her approach to these societal taboos has been met with critical acclaim, as there are few subjects absent from her speeches. Her west coast personality may be a factor in these programs, as she said, “I am very approachable and laid back.”
She hopes to educate the student body as a whole as far as their legal rights are concerned. “Many students don’t know what not to do when dealing with the police.” She wishes to engage in a program that would help students in this realm of the law, even going so far as to teach students how to clean up a less than stellar record.
With her roots in law as a child, and moving up through the ranks as a successful prosecutor, as well as a defense attorney, she now has her eye on the seat of District Attorney.
LoStracco said “When I first began in the D.A’s office we were averaging 70 percent on all of our cases in the win column. Since then, the numbers have steadily declined.”
She is currently running an amicable and clean campaign against the current incumbent, as they are real life friends outside of the political stage. LoStracco gives credit the citizens of Nacogdoches for urging her on to take up the position. If she however is unsuccessful in her campaign, she will continue working steadily, representing those in need of a good defense. She does not consider herself a politician, but feels she is more than capable of representing the taxpayers of this community.
LoStracco Interview - Nicole Newby
The Grand Ballroom was filled with over 1,000 students. After hearing lectures regarding fire safety and hazing, Nicole LoStracco, J.D., took the stage. “I get the fun topic,” she said. “I get to talk to you all about sex, drugs, and alcohol.”
On Sept. 24, attorney LoStracco was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training. The presentation was intended to inform representatives from every school organization about the dangers of substance abuse and sexual harassment and methods of preventing them. However, 10 days later, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning.
“Personally, I don’t know much about the situation,” said LoStracco. “Emotionally, I had to look at it through the viewpoint of the parent, which is what happens when you have children. You feel for the friends. You feel for the family.”
LoStracco also said she was annoyed by the situation. “You treat college kids as adults,” she said. “They can drive a car and live alone, but college kids really aren’t that old. They don’t get it. If you drink too much, you can die. It seems that college kids forget. Your average college student partying can die from alcohol as well.”
However, college students have to look out for one another. “I think it is hard for anybody to understand hazing,” said LoStracco. “It’s tough for us, especially those with independent personalities, to understand that someone could succumb to peer pressure and that they would allow themselves to be hazed.”
LoStracco said that there is a big difference between how the criminal justice system views hazing and how the university views it. The criminal justice system looks for some injury involved, while according to the university, just embarrassing someone could constitute as hazing.
“In religion everyone says a sin is a sin,” said LoStracco. “It doesn’t matter how big it is, it is a sin. The same is true with crime now. Even if someone might not be to the level of going through the criminal justice system, there is still a chance of dealing with it on the university system.”
LoStracco has defended many SFA students against the school’s judicial system. Their crimes range from incidental to serious situations. In response, she created a program that teaches students what to do if contacted by the police. LoStracco said the program answers the question, “Now that you are busted, what happens?” She also teaches how to clean up a permanent record.
“Know your rights,” said LoStracco. “Most of us don’t know our rights and it’s just not fair. I think it’s real important that everyone know the different rights they have.”
Not only does LoStracco serve the SFA community, but she also works for the Nacogdoches justice system. After eight years as assistant district attorney and four years of running her own criminal defense practice, LoStracco is running as a Republican for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches. She said that she noticed many things that needed to be changed in the office, including managerial decisions and low numbers. The office use to win about 80 percent of its cases, but now only wins about half.
“I had a lot of people in the community come up to me who saw the problems and asked me to run,” said LoStracco. “Enough people finally came to me and were real serious about me running, so it forced me to become serious.”
LoStracco is running against Republican incumbent Stephanie Stephens. She said that Nacogdoches has not seen a large number of candidates run against incumbents.
“I don’t see myself as a politician, even though I am running for political office,” said LoStracco. “I don’t sugarcoat anything.”
However, she does possess qualities of most politicians. She spoke openly and said she is relatively approachable and is one of the youngest lawyers in town and can thus relate more to the college students. “I can talk about anything,” she said.
Despite her current involvement with law, LoStracco said that she did not always know what she wanted to do with her life.
“My father is a lawyer, my godfather is a lawyer. There is a lot of law in the family,” said LoStracco. “I don’t remember making the decision to go to law school. I really thought I wanted to do family law, though. I did a year of it in Lufkin and it was fine, but there wasn’t an opening for it in Nacogdoches. The only thing open was the position in the DA’s office. I walked in and just loved it. I loved prosecuting. There is a real team feeling of getting cases ready and going to trial.”
LoStracco got her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She doubled her courses her second year so that she could graduate early and marry James R. LoStracco. They have two children; Juliette, 4; Trey Robert III, 2.
On Sept. 24, attorney LoStracco was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training. The presentation was intended to inform representatives from every school organization about the dangers of substance abuse and sexual harassment and methods of preventing them. However, 10 days later, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning.
“Personally, I don’t know much about the situation,” said LoStracco. “Emotionally, I had to look at it through the viewpoint of the parent, which is what happens when you have children. You feel for the friends. You feel for the family.”
LoStracco also said she was annoyed by the situation. “You treat college kids as adults,” she said. “They can drive a car and live alone, but college kids really aren’t that old. They don’t get it. If you drink too much, you can die. It seems that college kids forget. Your average college student partying can die from alcohol as well.”
However, college students have to look out for one another. “I think it is hard for anybody to understand hazing,” said LoStracco. “It’s tough for us, especially those with independent personalities, to understand that someone could succumb to peer pressure and that they would allow themselves to be hazed.”
LoStracco said that there is a big difference between how the criminal justice system views hazing and how the university views it. The criminal justice system looks for some injury involved, while according to the university, just embarrassing someone could constitute as hazing.
“In religion everyone says a sin is a sin,” said LoStracco. “It doesn’t matter how big it is, it is a sin. The same is true with crime now. Even if someone might not be to the level of going through the criminal justice system, there is still a chance of dealing with it on the university system.”
LoStracco has defended many SFA students against the school’s judicial system. Their crimes range from incidental to serious situations. In response, she created a program that teaches students what to do if contacted by the police. LoStracco said the program answers the question, “Now that you are busted, what happens?” She also teaches how to clean up a permanent record.
“Know your rights,” said LoStracco. “Most of us don’t know our rights and it’s just not fair. I think it’s real important that everyone know the different rights they have.”
Not only does LoStracco serve the SFA community, but she also works for the Nacogdoches justice system. After eight years as assistant district attorney and four years of running her own criminal defense practice, LoStracco is running as a Republican for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches. She said that she noticed many things that needed to be changed in the office, including managerial decisions and low numbers. The office use to win about 80 percent of its cases, but now only wins about half.
“I had a lot of people in the community come up to me who saw the problems and asked me to run,” said LoStracco. “Enough people finally came to me and were real serious about me running, so it forced me to become serious.”
LoStracco is running against Republican incumbent Stephanie Stephens. She said that Nacogdoches has not seen a large number of candidates run against incumbents.
“I don’t see myself as a politician, even though I am running for political office,” said LoStracco. “I don’t sugarcoat anything.”
However, she does possess qualities of most politicians. She spoke openly and said she is relatively approachable and is one of the youngest lawyers in town and can thus relate more to the college students. “I can talk about anything,” she said.
Despite her current involvement with law, LoStracco said that she did not always know what she wanted to do with her life.
“My father is a lawyer, my godfather is a lawyer. There is a lot of law in the family,” said LoStracco. “I don’t remember making the decision to go to law school. I really thought I wanted to do family law, though. I did a year of it in Lufkin and it was fine, but there wasn’t an opening for it in Nacogdoches. The only thing open was the position in the DA’s office. I walked in and just loved it. I loved prosecuting. There is a real team feeling of getting cases ready and going to trial.”
LoStracco got her law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She doubled her courses her second year so that she could graduate early and marry James R. LoStracco. They have two children; Juliette, 4; Trey Robert III, 2.
LoStracco Interview - Jordan Lea Smith
On Sept. 24 Nicole LoStracco walked on the stage to talk to thousands of Stephen F. Austin students about “sex, drugs, and alcohol.” She talked about the importance of being aware of each of these things and how to handle situations where they were included. Ten days later, SFA student Nikolas Gallegos died of alcohol poisoning.
“I had the fun topics,” LoStracco said. She thinks that those topics are things that students like to listen to rather than fire safety, harassment and hazing, some of the other topics discussed at SFA’s Risk Management Training.
Discussing sex can be hard with some groups of people, but on a college campus it is an important thing. With date rape rates being one of the highest crime rates on college campuses, it needs to be talked about. LoStracco not only discussed this topic at the Risk Management Training, but also at the Kappa Alpha fraternity’s date rate prevention seminar. She says, “If someone is so drunk they can’t consent, it’s rape.”
Drugs and alcohol fall on the same plane with her. When she was a teenager problem with these substances were taken much more lightly than they are now. “You sorta got your hands slapped.” she said, “Now, nobody sorta lets you slide.” It is a big deal if a college student is caught in possession of drugs or alcohol. Even though it probably won’t ruin someone’s permanent record they have to go through all sorts of procedures and those aren’t cheap.
If police find even the slightest hint of alcohol on a minor’s breath they will arrest him or her. Their parents will have to bail them out of jail and then many court appearances will follow. Court and lawyer fees can add up to a high price.
LoStracco, an exuberant speaker, is 37 years old and runs her own criminal defense practice. She is married to James R. LoStracco and they have two children, Juliette and Trey. She was born and raised in San Fransico, California. When she was two her father was transferred to Belgium. They stayed there for five years.
LoStracco said, “It was a good basis for other travel I did later on.” They moved back to San Fransico and lived there until she graduated from high school. LoStracco then moved to Oakland to attend Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university. When she moved to college her parents moved to Honolulu, Hawaii. LoStracco spent many Christmas breaks and summers on the sunny beaches of Hawaii. She also spent 18 months in Spain for college.
When she was getting ready to graduate from Mills College she started applying for law school. She got accepted to many schools, but chose Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “Having a boyfriend from Amarillo helped make that decision,” she said. Ironically that relationship didn’t work out, but she meet James LoStracco. James LoStracco was a Nacogdoches native so when it came time for him to graduate and move back LoStracco didn’t want to be too far away from him so she hurried along with her schooling and graduated earlier in order to move to Nacogdoches.
One would think that after all the travel she had done, moving to little old Nacogdoches would be a big step for her. She said, “I never saw myself as a city girl.” She grew up riding horses, so she knew she could handle the move.
After they were married Nicole LaStracco began her search for a practice to join. “You’re pretty much going to go where the niche is,” she said about finding a law firm to join in Nacogdoches. She wound up in a family law firm in Lufkin but quit after one year because she didn’t want to commute.
When coming back to Nacogdoches to look for another job the only opening was in the District Attorney’s office working under Tim James. She handled the violence against women’s act and ended up specializing in child’s sexual assault cases. “It’s a real, real satisfying case to prosecute with,” she said. She stayed with the District Attorney’s office for eight years and during
that time had her first child. In October 2004 she left and opened her own practice.
LoStracco said that she gets a lot of questions like, “How can you go from prosecuting people for all those years and then defend people?” She said that it’s just more fulfilling and more along the lines of what she thought she wanted to do.
Even though she loves running her own practice she is running for District Attorney in the upcoming election. She said she feels like she needs to go back to the DA’s office for several reasons. There are some decisions being made that she thinks could be made differently. Another reason is that the win rate in cases has dropped from in the 80s to the 50s. “That’s a problem for the community,” she said.
She is running against the incumbent, who is also running on the Republican ticket. What that means is that since the Democratic Party doesn’t have a candidate that the district attorney for Nacogdoches County will be decided by the primary election in March 2008.
LoStracco has started up a new program where she will attend meetings with groups on campus to talk to them about handling different situations correctly. The program is different from just telling students what not to do, it is more like a “now that you’re busted” type of thing or “if you’ve been in trouble before, how to clean up your record.”
She is friends with SFA’s Dr. Scott and Beverly Farmer and is also “relatively approachable” so she will continue to be asked to return to SFA to speak to students on topics such as “sex, drugs, and alcohol.”
“I had the fun topics,” LoStracco said. She thinks that those topics are things that students like to listen to rather than fire safety, harassment and hazing, some of the other topics discussed at SFA’s Risk Management Training.
Discussing sex can be hard with some groups of people, but on a college campus it is an important thing. With date rape rates being one of the highest crime rates on college campuses, it needs to be talked about. LoStracco not only discussed this topic at the Risk Management Training, but also at the Kappa Alpha fraternity’s date rate prevention seminar. She says, “If someone is so drunk they can’t consent, it’s rape.”
Drugs and alcohol fall on the same plane with her. When she was a teenager problem with these substances were taken much more lightly than they are now. “You sorta got your hands slapped.” she said, “Now, nobody sorta lets you slide.” It is a big deal if a college student is caught in possession of drugs or alcohol. Even though it probably won’t ruin someone’s permanent record they have to go through all sorts of procedures and those aren’t cheap.
If police find even the slightest hint of alcohol on a minor’s breath they will arrest him or her. Their parents will have to bail them out of jail and then many court appearances will follow. Court and lawyer fees can add up to a high price.
LoStracco, an exuberant speaker, is 37 years old and runs her own criminal defense practice. She is married to James R. LoStracco and they have two children, Juliette and Trey. She was born and raised in San Fransico, California. When she was two her father was transferred to Belgium. They stayed there for five years.
LoStracco said, “It was a good basis for other travel I did later on.” They moved back to San Fransico and lived there until she graduated from high school. LoStracco then moved to Oakland to attend Mills College, a liberal arts women’s university. When she moved to college her parents moved to Honolulu, Hawaii. LoStracco spent many Christmas breaks and summers on the sunny beaches of Hawaii. She also spent 18 months in Spain for college.
When she was getting ready to graduate from Mills College she started applying for law school. She got accepted to many schools, but chose Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “Having a boyfriend from Amarillo helped make that decision,” she said. Ironically that relationship didn’t work out, but she meet James LoStracco. James LoStracco was a Nacogdoches native so when it came time for him to graduate and move back LoStracco didn’t want to be too far away from him so she hurried along with her schooling and graduated earlier in order to move to Nacogdoches.
One would think that after all the travel she had done, moving to little old Nacogdoches would be a big step for her. She said, “I never saw myself as a city girl.” She grew up riding horses, so she knew she could handle the move.
After they were married Nicole LaStracco began her search for a practice to join. “You’re pretty much going to go where the niche is,” she said about finding a law firm to join in Nacogdoches. She wound up in a family law firm in Lufkin but quit after one year because she didn’t want to commute.
When coming back to Nacogdoches to look for another job the only opening was in the District Attorney’s office working under Tim James. She handled the violence against women’s act and ended up specializing in child’s sexual assault cases. “It’s a real, real satisfying case to prosecute with,” she said. She stayed with the District Attorney’s office for eight years and during
that time had her first child. In October 2004 she left and opened her own practice.
LoStracco said that she gets a lot of questions like, “How can you go from prosecuting people for all those years and then defend people?” She said that it’s just more fulfilling and more along the lines of what she thought she wanted to do.
Even though she loves running her own practice she is running for District Attorney in the upcoming election. She said she feels like she needs to go back to the DA’s office for several reasons. There are some decisions being made that she thinks could be made differently. Another reason is that the win rate in cases has dropped from in the 80s to the 50s. “That’s a problem for the community,” she said.
She is running against the incumbent, who is also running on the Republican ticket. What that means is that since the Democratic Party doesn’t have a candidate that the district attorney for Nacogdoches County will be decided by the primary election in March 2008.
LoStracco has started up a new program where she will attend meetings with groups on campus to talk to them about handling different situations correctly. The program is different from just telling students what not to do, it is more like a “now that you’re busted” type of thing or “if you’ve been in trouble before, how to clean up your record.”
She is friends with SFA’s Dr. Scott and Beverly Farmer and is also “relatively approachable” so she will continue to be asked to return to SFA to speak to students on topics such as “sex, drugs, and alcohol.”
LoStracco Interview - Kayla Babin
Nicole LoStraccoo, J.D., born in San Fransico, California and ended up in Nacogdoches running for District Attorney. Married to fellow attorney James R. LoStracco and has two children. She is a brunette, Republican, Red Raider.
Mrs. Lostracco was born in San Francisco, but shortly after that her father was transferred to Belgium till she was in the third grade. Then they moved back to California where she continued school to go to Mills College in Oakland, California graduated and decided to go to law school. Her number one choice was Texas Tech In Lubbock, which is where she met her fellow attorney husband. After finishing law school she moved to Nacogdoches where her husband was originally from.
When deciding to go to law school LoStracco has several personality traits about her that fit the job some of them were she is a very approachable person, isn’t scared to talk in front of a large group of people, and she didn’t want a job that she could say what she though because it might cause her to get fired. After graduating six months early her specialty first was in divorce, so she found her first job in Lufkin. After a year there she didn’t like the long commute and decided to take a job with the district attorney, Tim James, where she was the prosecutor for violence against women. She handled all the cases that came in that involved women or sexually assaulted children for about eight years. Then she went on to form her own criminal defense practice in 2004 which was totally opposite of what she had been doing for so long and about 90 percent of her cases ended up with a plea bargain. On the other hand she had a couple of requirements for her clients, which were that they tell her the whole truth and if she can tell they are lying, she refuses to represent them. She also said, “I will take many cases, but the one thing I will not defend are child sex offenders. I don’t know if it is because I have children of my own; of what I just refuse.”
Mrs. LoStracco also does many public speeches on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University about the dangers of alcohol, drugs, hazing, rape etc. Recently she was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24 just ten days before the death of SFA student, Nikolas Gallegos, which was alcohol related.
Not only does she speak about the effects of such things she is starting a new program where she informs students on how to react after being caught by the law. She said, “Many students make matters worse for them because they like to handle their tickets by themselves because they try to hide it from their parents.” She wants to educate students on how to handle the after math of probations or getting records swiped clean.
LoStracco has taken on a new challenge and is running as a Republican for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches. Her running mate is aquitance Stephanie Stephens who is now district attorney and also a Republican. If LoStracco wins the primaries on March forth her name will be put on the ballot. Currently there are no Democrats running against them which means whoever wins the election will automatically win the position and will start work in January 2009.
LoStracco took a stand when she said, “To be a good district attorney it takes good office management skills and a good attorney.” The win rate has gone down 50 percent and there are a lot of staffing issues that she is ready to take on and handle. LoStracco has lawyer in her blood because her father and godfather were lawyers, she loves criminal law, and likes the team aspect that comes with it.
Mrs. Lostracco was born in San Francisco, but shortly after that her father was transferred to Belgium till she was in the third grade. Then they moved back to California where she continued school to go to Mills College in Oakland, California graduated and decided to go to law school. Her number one choice was Texas Tech In Lubbock, which is where she met her fellow attorney husband. After finishing law school she moved to Nacogdoches where her husband was originally from.
When deciding to go to law school LoStracco has several personality traits about her that fit the job some of them were she is a very approachable person, isn’t scared to talk in front of a large group of people, and she didn’t want a job that she could say what she though because it might cause her to get fired. After graduating six months early her specialty first was in divorce, so she found her first job in Lufkin. After a year there she didn’t like the long commute and decided to take a job with the district attorney, Tim James, where she was the prosecutor for violence against women. She handled all the cases that came in that involved women or sexually assaulted children for about eight years. Then she went on to form her own criminal defense practice in 2004 which was totally opposite of what she had been doing for so long and about 90 percent of her cases ended up with a plea bargain. On the other hand she had a couple of requirements for her clients, which were that they tell her the whole truth and if she can tell they are lying, she refuses to represent them. She also said, “I will take many cases, but the one thing I will not defend are child sex offenders. I don’t know if it is because I have children of my own; of what I just refuse.”
Mrs. LoStracco also does many public speeches on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University about the dangers of alcohol, drugs, hazing, rape etc. Recently she was one of the speakers at SFA’s Risk Management Training on September 24 just ten days before the death of SFA student, Nikolas Gallegos, which was alcohol related.
Not only does she speak about the effects of such things she is starting a new program where she informs students on how to react after being caught by the law. She said, “Many students make matters worse for them because they like to handle their tickets by themselves because they try to hide it from their parents.” She wants to educate students on how to handle the after math of probations or getting records swiped clean.
LoStracco has taken on a new challenge and is running as a Republican for the office of district attorney of Nacogdoches. Her running mate is aquitance Stephanie Stephens who is now district attorney and also a Republican. If LoStracco wins the primaries on March forth her name will be put on the ballot. Currently there are no Democrats running against them which means whoever wins the election will automatically win the position and will start work in January 2009.
LoStracco took a stand when she said, “To be a good district attorney it takes good office management skills and a good attorney.” The win rate has gone down 50 percent and there are a lot of staffing issues that she is ready to take on and handle. LoStracco has lawyer in her blood because her father and godfather were lawyers, she loves criminal law, and likes the team aspect that comes with it.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)