New York County District Attorney

The office operates out of 1 Hogan Place (also known as 100 Centre Street)

The New York County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for New York County (Manhattan), New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws. (Federal law violations are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York). The current District Attorney is Cyrus Vance, Jr.

History

In the legislative act of February 5, 1796, New York State was divided into seven districts which had each an Assistant Attorney General, except New York County where Attorney General Josiah Ogden Hoffman prosecuted personally until 1801.^[1]

From 1801 to 1813, New York County was part of the First District which included the then existing counties of New York, Suffolk, Queens, Kings, Richmond and Westchester (now comprising the area of Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, Staten Island, Westchester and Suffolk). In 1813, Westchester Co. was redistricted to a new district with Rockland and Putnam counties. In 1815, New York County was excluded from the First District and became the Twelfth District, at the time the only one consisting of a single county. In 1818, all 13 districts were broken up, and every county in the State of New York became a separate district.

From 1874 to 1895, the County of New York included the West Bronx, and from 1895 to 1913 all of what is today the County of Bronx, governing the same area as does the present Borough of the Bronx.^[2] Since January 1, 1914, the boundaries of New York County have been identical to those of the Borough of Manhattan.

Until 1822, the district attorney was appointed by the Council of Appointment, and held the office "during the Council's pleasure", meaning that there was no defined term of office.

Under the provisions of the State Constitution of 1821, the D.A. was appointed to a three-year term by the Court of General Sessions.^[1]

Under the provisions of the State Constitution of 1846, the office became elective by popular ballot.^[1] The term was three years, beginning on January 1 and ending on December 31. In case of a vacancy, the Governor of New York filled the vacancy temporarily until a successor was elected, always to a full term, at the next annual election. An Acting D.A. was appointed by the Court of General Sessions pending the Governor's action.

The Consolidation Charter of 1896 extended the term of the incumbent John R. Fellows—who had been elected in 1893 to a three-year term (1894–96)—by a year, and since the City election of 1897, the D.A.'s term coincides with the Mayor's term, being four years long.^[3] In case of a vacancy, a special election is held for the remainder of the term, if any.

List of District Attorneys

District Attorney	Took office	Left office	Party	Notes
Richard Riker	August 19, 1801	February 13, 1810	Dem.-Rep.
Cadwallader D. Colden	February 13, 1810	February 19, 1811	Federalist
Richard Riker	February 19, 1811	March 5, 1813	Dem.-Rep.
Barent Gardenier	March 5, 1813	March 31, 1815	Federalist
John Rodman	March 31, 1815	January 28, 1817	Dem.-Rep.
Hugh Maxwell	January 28, 1817	June 11, 1818	Dem.-Rep.
Pierre C. Van Wyck	June 11, 1818	February 13, 1821
Hugh Maxwell	February 13, 1821	May 1829	Dem.-Rep.	in 1821 the last D.A. appointed by the Council of Appointment; re-appointed by the Court of General Sessions in 1823 and 1826 (two terms)
Ogden Hoffman	May 1829	May 22, 1835	Democratic	two terms
Thomas Phoenix	May 22, 1835	June 4, 1838
James R. Whiting	June 4, 1838	June 10, 1844	Democratic	two terms
Matthew C. Paterson	June 10, 1844	January 26, 1846		died in office
John McKeon	February 6, 1846	December 31, 1850	Democratic	in 1846 the last D.A. appointed by the Court of General Sessions; in 1847 the first D.A. elected by popular ballot; elected at the judicial State election of May 1847 to a term of three years and a half
N. Bowditch Blunt	January 1, 1851	July 17, 1854	Whig	died in office during his second term
Lorenzo B. Shepard	July 25, 1854	December 31, 1854	Democratic	appointed by Gov. Horatio Seymour to fill vacancy
A. Oakey Hall	January 1, 1855	December 31, 1857	Whig
Peter B. Sweeny	January 1, 1858	October 5, 1858	Democratic	resigned because of ill health
Joseph Blunt	October 1858	December 31, 1858	Republican	appointed by Gov. John A. King to fill vacancy
Nelson J. Waterbury	January 1, 1859	December 31, 1861	Democratic
A. Oakey Hall	January 1, 1862	December 31, 1868	Republican	second tenure; resigned during his fourth term to take office as Mayor of New York City
Samuel B. Garvin	January 1869	December 31, 1872	Democratic	appointed by Gov. John T. Hoffman to fill vacancy; then elected to a full term
Benjamin K. Phelps	January 1, 1873	December 30, 1880	Republican	died in office during his third term
Daniel G. Rollins	January 3, 1881	December 31, 1881	Republican	as Assistant D.A. appointed temporarily by the Court of General Sessions; on January 10, appointed by Gov. Alonzo B. Cornell to fill vacancy
John McKeon	January 1, 1882	November 22, 1883	Democratic	second tenure; died in office
John Vincent	November 22, 1883	November 30, 1883	Democratic	as one of four Assistant D.A.s, was appointed by the Court of General Sessions to act until the appointment of a successor
Wheeler H. Peckham	November 30, 1883	December 9, 1883	Democratic	appointed by Gov. Grover Cleveland to fill vacancy; then resigned due to ill health
Peter B. Olney	December 10, 1883	December 31, 1884	Democratic	appointed by Gov. Cleveland to fill vacancy
Randolph B. Martine	January 1, 1885	December 31, 1887	Democratic
John R. Fellows	January 1, 1888	December 31, 1890	Democratic
De Lancey Nicoll	January 1, 1891	December 31, 1893	Democratic
John R. Fellows	January 1, 1894	December 7, 1896	Democratic	second term; elected to a three-year term (1894–96), had his term extended by a year so that the D.A. and the Mayor and other City officers would be elected together in odd-numbered years, but died in office shortly before his extra year began
Vernon M. Davis	December 7, 1896	December 19, 1896	Democratic	as the senior Assistant D.A., was appointed by the Court of General Sessions to act until the appointment of a successor by the Governor
William M.K. Olcott	December 19, 1896	December 31, 1897	Republican	appointed by Governor Levi P. Morton to fill vacancy
Asa Bird Gardiner	January 1, 1898	December 22, 1900	Democratic	first D.A. elected to a four-year term under the Consolidation Charter, then removed from office by Gov. Theodore Roosevelt due to corruption charges
Eugene A. Philbin	December 22, 1900	December 31, 1901	Democratic	appointed by Gov. Roosevelt to fill vacancy
William T. Jerome	January 1, 1902	December 31, 1909	Fusion/Ind.	two terms; elected in 1901 on a Fusion ticket nominated by Anti-Tammany Democrats, Republicans and the Citizens Union; re-elected in 1905 as an Independent, nominated by the Republican Party too late to appear as such on the ballot
Charles S. Whitman	January 1, 1910	December 31, 1914	Republican	resigned to take office as Governor of New York during his second term
Charles A. Perkins	January 1915	December 31, 1915	Republican	appointed by Gov. Whitman to fill vacancy; defeated by Swann in special election
Edward Swann	January 1, 1916	December 31, 1921	Democratic	won special election for the remainder of Whitman's second term; then re-elected to a full term
Joab H. Banton	January 1, 1922	December 31, 1929	Democratic	two terms
Thomas C. T. Crain	January 1, 1930	December 31, 1933	Democratic
William C. Dodge	January 1, 1934	December 31, 1937	Democratic
Thomas E. Dewey	January 1, 1938	December 31, 1941	Republican
Frank S. Hogan	January 1, 1942	February 5, 1974	Democratic	tendered his resignation on December 26, 1973, but remained in office until the appointment of a successor on February 5, 1974, shortly after beginning his ninth term
Richard Kuh	February 5, 1974	December 31, 1974	Democratic	appointed by Gov. Malcolm Wilson to fill vacancy; defeated by Morgenthau in Democratic primary for special election
Robert M. Morgenthau	January 1, 1975	December 31, 2009	Democratic	won special election for the remainder of Hogan's ninth term; then re-elected eight times; longest serving DA for New York County
Cyrus Vance, Jr.	January 1, 2010	Incumbent	Democratic

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Legal and Judicial History of New York By Alden Chester, Lyman Horace Weeks, John Hampden Dougherty - Published by National Americana society, 1911
2. ^ Geoffrey Hermalyn and Lloyd Ultan, "Bronx" in The Encyclopedia of New York City (1st edition), edited by Kenneth T. Jackson, New York Historical Society and Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, 1995, ISBN 0-300-05536-6, page 140.
3. ^ Except 1901 to 1905, when the D.A.'s term was four years, but two mayors served a two-year term each.

External links

• Manhattanda.org