NORRISTOWN >> Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden, who is part of the team that is prosecuting entertainer Bill Cosby on sex assault charges, is leaving the district attorney’s office effective Aug. 15 for a new job.
Feden, who since February has been the captain of the district attorney’s domestic violence unit, is joining the Philadelphia-based law firm of Stradley Ronon as an associate and will primarily handle civil litigation.
However, District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said despite Feden’s departure she will be designated as a special prosecutor when Cosby faces his retrial in county court. That retrial is currently slated to begin Nov. 6.
“Kristen has been an outstanding prosecutor. She is always prepared, terrific in her approach and has excellent courtroom presence. We are sad to lose one of the best young attorneys we have. We will miss her personally and professionally…,” Steele said in a prepared statement, adding he is pleased Stradley Ronon will permit Feden to continue with the Cosby prosecution.
William R. Sasso, chairman of Stradley Ronon’s management committee and board of directors, also praised Feden saying she is “an exceptional courtroom attorney and will be an asset to our strong litigation team.”
Michael D. O’Mara, chair of Stradley Ronon’s litigation department, characterized Feden, of Abington, as “a superstar in any setting,” whether as a criminal prosecutor or in private practice.
Feden, who was a law clerk for Judge Garrett D. Page before being hired as a prosecutor, is a 2009 graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law. Feden prosecuted many sex crime cases during her stint as a prosecutor.
Last year, Feden was assigned to assist Steele in the prosecution of Cosby, 80, who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at his Cheltenham home in 2004. Feden garnered national attention when she made the opening statement to jurors and conducted the direct examination of Cosby accuser Andrea Constand during the trial.
Assistant District Attorney M. Stewart Ryan is also part of the Cosby prosecutorial team.
The Cosby trial is the highest profile case to ever play out at the county courthouse. In June, a mistrial was declared when a jury could not reach a verdict at Cosby’s trial. The case is now scheduled for a retrial before Judge Steven T. O’Neill.
Last month, defense lawyer Brian J. McMonagle, who led Cosby’s defense team through the June trial, filed court documents seeking to withdraw as Cosby’s lawyer. Judge O’Neill has scheduled an Aug. 22 hearing to consider McMonagle’s request.
