The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected
district attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a ...
for
New York County
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
(Manhattan),
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. The office is responsible for the
prosecution of violations of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
state law State law refers to the law of a federated state, as distinguished from the law of the federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, o ...
s (
federal law
Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a group of political units, such as states or provinces join in a federation, delegating their individual sovereignty and many ...
violations in Manhattan are prosecuted by the
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York). The current district attorney is
Alvin Bragg. He was
elected in 2021 to succeed
Cyrus Vance Jr.
Cyrus Roberts Vance Jr. (born June 14, 1954) is an American attorney and politician who served as the District Attorney of New York County, New York, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney. He was previously a principal partner at the law ...
District attorneys are legally permitted to delegate the prosecution of
petty crimes or offenses. Prosecutors do not normally handle
New York City Criminal Court summons court cases, and the Manhattan district attorney has a memorandum of understanding with the
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act i ...
allowing their legal bureau to selectively prosecute them.
History
In the legislative act of February 12, 1796, New York State was divided into seven districts, each with an Assistant Attorney General, except New York County where
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
Josiah Ogden Hoffman prosecuted personally until 1801.
From 1801 to 1813, New York County was part of the First District, which included the counties of New York, Kings, Queens, Richmond, and Suffolk. At that time, Queens included current-day
Nassau County and Westchester included
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
. In 1813, Westchester County was apportioned to a new district with
Rockland and
Putnam counties, and in 1815, New York County became the Twelfth District—the only one at the time that was a single county. In 1818, each county in the state became its own district.
From 1874 to 1895, New York County included the
West Bronx
The West Bronx is a region in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The region lies west of the Bronx River and roughly corresponds to the western half of the borough.
The West Bronx is more densely populated than the East Bronx, and is clo ...
, and from 1895 to 1913 it included all of what is now Bronx County, governing the same area as does the present
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
of the Bronx. On January 1, 1914, the Bronx became a separate county with its own district attorney.
Until 1822, the district attorney was appointed by the
Council of Appointment The Council of Appointment (sometimes also Council of Appointments) was a body of the Government of New York that existed from 1777 to 1822.
History
Under the New York Constitution of 1777, the Council of Appointment consisted of the Governor of N ...
, and held the office "during the Council's pleasure", meaning that there was no defined term of office. Under the provisions of the
New York State Constitution of 1821, the district attorney was appointed to a three-year term by the County Court, and under the provisions of the
Constitution of 1846, the office became elective by popular ballot.
The term was three years, beginning on January 1 and ending on December 31. In case of a vacancy, an acting district attorney was appointed by the Court of General Sessions until the
Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor h ...
filled the vacancy with an interim appointment until an election was held for the remainder of the term.
The Consolidation Charter of 1896 extended the term by a year of the incumbent
John R. Fellows
John R. Fellows (July 29, 1832 – December 7, 1896) was an American lawyer and politician from Arkansas and New York. He served as New York County District Attorney (1888-1890, 1894-1896), and a member of Congress from New York (1891-1893).
L ...
, who had been elected in 1893 to a three-year term (1894–1896). Since the
city election of 1897, the district attorney's term has coincided with the mayor's term and has been four years long.
[Except from 1901 to 1905, when the district attorney's term was four years and two mayors each served a two-year term.] In case of a vacancy, the governor can make an interim appointment until a special election is held for the remainder of the term.
Gallery
File:Ny-county-hogan-entrance.jpg, The office operates out of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse at 1 Hogan Place (100 Centre Street)
File:Louis J. Lefkowitz State Office Building 80 Centre Street.jpg, The district attorney also operates out of the Louis J. Lefkowitz State Office Building on 80 Centre Street (141 Worth Street).
List of district attorneys
The New York County District Attorney in popular culture
Films
* ''
Legal Eagles'' (1986)
Television series
* ''
The D.A.'s Man'', which ran for a single season on
NBC in 1959, starred
John Compton
Sir John George Melvin Compton, (29 April 1925 – 7 September 2007) was a Saint Lucian politician who became the first Prime Minister upon independence in February 1979. Having led Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, Compton s ...
as Shannon, an undercover investigator for the Manhattan DA's office. Produced by
Jack Webb
John Randolph Webb (April 2, 1920 – December 23, 1982) was an American actor, television producer, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sgt. Joe Friday in the ''Dragnet'' franchise, which he created. He was a ...
, the series fictionalized the career of real-life Manhattan DA's Investigator Harold Danforth, whose autobiography, also titled ''The D.A.'s Man'', written in collaboration with veteran,
Pulitzer Prize-winning police reporter James D. Horan, had won an
Edgar
Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear").
Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, r ...
from the
Mystery Writers of America
Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City.
The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday.
It presents the Edgar Award ...
for Best Fact Crime Book.
* ''
For the People'' starred
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...
as an idealistic young deputy district attorney in the Manhattan DA's Office,
Howard Da Silva
Howard Da Silva (born Howard Silverblatt, May 4, 1909 – February 16, 1986) was an American actor, director and musical performer on stage, film, television and radio. He was cast in dozens of productions on the New York stage, appeared in mo ...
as his supervisor, and
Lonny Chapman
Lon Leonard Chapman (October 1, 1920 – October 12, 2007) was an American actor best known for his numerous guest star appearances on television drama series.
Early years
Chapman was the son of Elmer and Eunice Chapman, He was born on Oc ...
as his investigator.
* ''
Hawk
Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
* The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfa ...
'', which ran for a half-season in 1966, starred
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture.
Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...
as Lt. John Hawk, a detective assigned to
NYPD's Manhattan DA's Squad.
* ''
Cagney & Lacey
''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very di ...
'' was revived in 1994 for a series of irregularly scheduled two-hour TV-movies. In the interim between these films and the original series, Cagney had been promoted to lieutenant and placed in command of the NYPD's Manhattan DA's Squad. Lacey, having retired some years earlier was persuaded to return to police work as a criminal investigator for the Manhattan DA's Bureau of Investigation, allowing the two partners to work together again. There were four movies in the revived series between 1994 and 1996.
* ''
Blue Bloods'': Depicts the prosecution of criminal suspects by lawyers of the New York County District Attorney's office through the character
assistant district attorney Erin Reagan (
Bridget Moynahan), who started out the series as a Trial Division Assistant District Attorney before being promoted to Deputy Bureau Chief in toward the end of
Season 3 and then to Trial Division Bureau Chief at the start of
Season 9. Since
Season 5, Erin has worked closely with D.A. Investigator Anthony Abetemarco (
Steven R. Schirripa
Steven Ralph Schirripa ( ; born September 3, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Bobby Baccalieri on ''The Sopranos'', Leo Boykewich on ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager'', and Detective Anthony Abetemarco on '' ...
).
* ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering ...
'': The long-running television series ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering ...
'' and its
spin-offs depict the prosecution of criminal suspects by lawyers of the New York County District Attorney's office. In the original pilot episode "
Everybody's Favorite Bagman", shot in 1988,
Roy Thinnes was cast as District Attorney Alfred Wentworth. Subsequent district attorneys depicted in the franchise are
Adam Schiff
Adam Bennett Schiff (born June 22, 1960) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who has served as a U.S. representative since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented since 2013.
Schiff's district (numbered as the 2 ...
(1990–2000),
Nora Lewin
Nora Lewin is a fictional character on the TV show ''Law & Order'', played by two-time Academy Award winning actress Dianne Wiest from 2000 to 2002. She appeared in 51 episodes (48 episodes of ''Law & Order'', one episode of '' Law & Order: Crimi ...
(2000–2002),
Arthur Branch
Arthur Branch is a fictional character on the TV crime drama '' Law & Order'' and one of its spinoffs, '' Law & Order: Trial by Jury''. Branch has also appeared on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', and ' ...
(2002–2007) and
Jack McCoy (2008–2011, 2018–Present). ''Law & Order'' ceased production in 2010, but McCoy (though not seen) was still occasionally mentioned as being the Manhattan district attorney in the spin-off series ''
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' in several episodes through 2011. A reference to "the new DA" in a 2013 episode indicated that McCoy had moved on from the position presumably sometime in 2012; his replacement was unnamed. However, McCoy became the district attorney again as of 2018, showing up in an ''SVU'' episode and later during the
21st season of ''Law & Order'' that started in 2022.
References
External links
Manhattanda.org{{Current prosecutors of New York City, state=expanded
1815 establishments in New York (state)