Lawrenceville's Jennifer Downing Named Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor

Lawrenceville, NJ -- Longtime Lawrenceville resident Jennifer Downing has been promoted to Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor, Acting Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri recently announced.

Downing takes over for Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Tom Meidt, who retired earlier this year.
Downing was born in Trenton and raised in Lawrenceville. She attended Lawrenceville Public Schools, and graduated from Rider University in 1994. She earned her law degree from Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1997.

Downing has been an assistant prosecutor in the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office for 18 years. She has worked in various units, including Megan’s Law, Juvenile, Domestic Violence, Grand Jury, Trial and Special Victims.

Downing was previously the chief of the Megan’s Law Unit, and has been the chief assistant prosecutor in the Special Victims Unit. She began her career serving as a law clerk for the Honorable Paulette Sapp Peterson (retired).

“Jennifer has always been a valuable asset to the office. She is dedicated, experienced, and as a lifelong Mercer County resident, she offers a deep understanding of our community,” Onofri said. “I look forward to continuing our work together and her increased role in the office.”

Downing is a certified legal instructor with the New Jersey Police Training Commission, instructing new recruits attending the Mercer County Police Academy.

She conducts annual trainings for officers and detectives throughout Mercer County.

Downing also conducts training on sexual assault and child abuse for all of the public and private schools, and colleges and universities in Mercer County.

A member of the New Jersey State Bar, the Mercer County Bar, and Assistant Prosecutors Associations, Downing is active in the Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey, New Jersey Women in Law Enforcement, and the Eggerts Crossing Civic League.

She also plays significant roles in the Mercer County Inns of Court, the Mercer County Commission on Abused, Neglected and Missing Children, and the Mercer Vicinage Superior Court Advisory Committee on Minority Concerns.

The attached image was provided by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office: New Mercer County Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Downing (second from right) is joined by her mother, Sarah Downing, and her fiancé, Lloyd Mathis, as Mercer County Superior Court Judge Janetta D. Marbrey (far left) administers her oath of office.