Judge Magali Marie François received her J.D. degree from the College of William and Mary School of Law and her B.S. degree from Boston University. She was appointed to the Bench in 2015 and assigned to the Family Division, Bergen Vicinage. Judge François presides over Juvenile, Children in Court, Special Juvenile Immigration and Matrimonial Post-Judgment cases. She is a member of the Juvenile Committee of the Conference of Family Presiding Judges and the Bergen County Youth Services Commission. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge François was the Managing Attorney of the Office of Law Guardian, Northern and Northwest Regions. Her prior legal experiences include working as In-House Counsel for Chubb Insurance Companies and as a Deputy Attorney General in the Division of Law, State of New Jersey. Judge François began her legal career as a judicial law clerk in the Appellate Division of New Jersey to the late Honorable Philip Gruccio, J.A.D.

Paul B. Brickfield is a criminal defense Lawyer whose practice is based in New Jersey. Over the last 25 years, Mr. Brickfield has successfully represented individuals facing serious charges in the federal courts of New Jersey. He began his legal career in the litigation department of the Wall Street firm Shearman & Sterling, LLP in New York City. He then became a supervising federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney's Office in New Jersey and then served as the First Assistant Prosecutor in Bergen County, New Jersey.

Mr. Brickfield has been recognized by his peers as shown in his election as a trustee of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey. Mr. Brickfield has been named a Super Lawyer for New Jersey for over 10 consecutive years, including this year and has been voted an outstanding criminal defense lawyer in Bergen County 201 Magazine for the past several years.

Mr. Brickfield graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Virginia Law School.

Det. Lt. Tina M. Cappadonna has worked with the Hackensack Police Department since January 2002. She was in the Patrol Division until 2007 when she was moved to the Juvenile Division as a Detective. Upon promotion to Sergeant, she was moved to the Patrol Division as a front line supervisor and then to the General Investigative Division as a Detective Sergeant. In 2015, Tina was promoted to Lieutenant and was assigned as a tour commander. In March of 2016, she was assigned as the Commander of the Juvenile/Community Outreach Division, where she currently remains. Prior to working In Hackensack, she was a corrections officer with the Bergen County Sheriffs Department. Tina is currently obtaining her Masters Degree in Public Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Court Services Supervisor II Janice Conti joined the Bergen Probation Division on June 1, 1999. She was assigned to Juvenile Supervision where she has remained for 21 years. In 2004 she was assigned to the Juvenile Sexually Abuse Behavior, Juvenile Fire Setters and Animal Cruelty specialized caseload and in 2018 was promoted to Supervisor of the Juvenile Unit.
In addition to the Juvenile Unit, in 2020 CSS2 Conti became the Supervisor for the Domestic Violence Unit and now serves as the Family Court Liaison for the Bergen County Probation Department.

CSS2 Conti currently serves as Co-Chair of the Bergen County Youth Services Commission and has been an active participant on the Bergen County JDAI Counsel and Probation Sub-Committee. CSS2 Conti is a member of the Probation Juvenile Managers Committee, Policy and Procedure Committee, the Conference of Chiefs/AOC Sexually Abusive Behavior Committee and most recently was selected by the Assistant Director of Probation Services to sit on the Performance Management Committee.

Karen D. Gwynn, Esq, received a dual B.A. degree in Psychology and Law Enforcement from the University of Maryland in 1986 and a J.D. degree from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1990. After graduating from Law School, she clerked for the Honorable Betty J. Lester, Superior Court Judge, Newark, New Jersey 1990-1991. She began her career as an Assistant Prosecutor with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office on May 3, 1993. During her time at the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office she has worked in various sections in the office such as the Grand Jury, Screening, Drug Court, Trial Unit, Domestic Violence, Megan’s Law, Sex Crimes, Cyber Crimes, and presently she is assigned to the Juvenile Unit. She was instrumental in developing the Drug Court Program in Bergen County. She has participated in numerous community service events and programs on behalf of the Prosecutor’s office Community Affairs Task Force, Including, developing and organizing programs involving Youth and their Interaction with Law Enforcement and Meals on Wheels. Ms. Gwynn is a member of the National Black Prosecutor’s Association where she served as Vice President of Programs for seven years. Ms. Gwynn is the newly elected President of the Black Prosecutors Association of New Jersey 2020-2021, which is a local chapter of the National Black Prosecutors Association. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Bergen County Alumnae Chapter were she participates on the Social Action, Nomination and Social Planning Committees. As part of these committees she has participated in their Domestic Violence Program, Pipeline: from the Classroom to the Court room program, Human Trafficking and Interacting with Law Enforcement program. Ms. Gwynn is a member of the Garden State Bar Association, the Association of Black Women Lawyers, the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Bergen County Bar Association (co-chair of the juvenile practice committee), the Black Lawyers Alliance Association, the Association of Black Women Lawyers, and the Honorable Marie White Bell, American Inn of Court.

Screen incoming juvenile complaints (search for any system involvement ,if any, review case and screen to what level of the courts juvenile will go to)
Oversee Juvenile Conference Committees (JCC)
Hear cases that are diverted to Intake Services Conference (ISC)
Run Risk Screening Tool when a Police Officer calls to request placement to Juvenile Detention Center.
Conduct 5A (public defender) interviews
Send any Juvenile Justice Commission referrals to Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) liaision.
Send any referrals ordered for Juvenile Intensive Supervision Program (JISP) to program.

I have been in my current position for 2 years now but have been working for the County of Bergen Department of Human Services for 7 years. As Court Liaison, I assist in the collaboration between our court related programs and the Juvenile Court system, specifically in Bergen County. The Division of Family Guidance provides clinical, residential, educational, correctional, case management, and monitoring services to at-risk children, adolescents, and their families. We have a total of 26 programs which provide services for Bergen County residents, and 8 of those programs are those for our court involved youth. In my role, I am responsible for communicating information to relevant parties about a juvenile case or trial, paperwork which can include court ordered evaluations, status updates or supporting documents, and other information that may be necessary for a youth’s court appearance. As Court Liaison, I communicate necessary court information to and work alongside juvenile attorneys and prosecutors, DCP&P, JJC staff, JISP officers, Probation, Care Management Organizations, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department in order to coordinate transportation for JDC youth, as well as all court ordered programs within the Division of Family Guidance.