Post: | District Attorney |
Body: | New York County |
Insignia: | New York County District Attorney seal.png |
Incumbent: | Alvin Bragg |
Incumbentsince: | January 1, 2022 |
Department: | District Attorneys Office of New York County |
Formation: | 1801 |
First: | Richard Riker |
The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan 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 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.[1]
District attorneys are legally permitted to delegate the prosecution of petty crimes or offenses.[2] [3] 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 allowing their legal bureau to selectively prosecute them.[4] [5]
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 Josiah Ogden Hoffman prosecuted personally until 1801.[6]
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. 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, and from 1895 to 1913 it included all of what is now Bronx County, governing the same area as does the present Borough of the Bronx.[7] 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, 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 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, 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.[8] In case of a vacancy, the governor can make an interim appointment until a special election is held for the remainder of the term.
No. | District Attorney | Dates in office | Party | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Richard Riker | August 19, 1801 – February 13, 1810 | Dem.-Rep. | [9] |
2 | Cadwallader D. Colden | February 13, 1810 – February 19, 1811 | Federalist | |
3 | Richard Riker | February 19, 1811 – March 5, 1813 | Dem.-Rep. | |
4 | Barent Gardenier | March 5, 1813 – March 31, 1815 | Federalist | |
5 | John Rodman | March 31, 1815 – January 28, 1817 | Dem.-Rep. | [10] |
6 | Hugh Maxwell | January 28, 1817 – June 11, 1818 | Dem.-Rep. | |
7 | June 11, 1818 – February 13, 1821 | Dem.-Rep. | [11] | |
8 | Hugh Maxwell | February 13, 1821 – May 1829 | Dem.-Rep. |
|
9 | Ogden Hoffman | May 1829 – May 22, 1835 | Democratic |
|
10 | Thomas Phoenix | May 22, 1835 – June 4, 1838 | ? |
|
11 | James R. Whiting | June 4, 1838 – June 10, 1844 | Democratic |
|
12 | Matthew C. Paterson | June 10, 1844 – January 26, 1846 | ? |
|
13 | John McKeon | February 6, 1846 – January 1, 1851 | Democratic |
|
14 | N. Bowditch Blunt | January 1, 1851 – July 17, 1854 | Whig | |
– | Lorenzo B. Shepard[14] | July 25, 1854 – January 1, 1855 (interim) | Democratic |
|
15 | A. Oakey Hall[16] | January 1, 1855 – January 1, 1858 | Whig |
|
16 | Peter B. Sweeny[18] | January 1, 1858 – October 3, 1858 | Democratic | |
– | Joseph Blunt[22] | October 5, 1858 – January 1, 1859 (interim) | Republican |
|
17 | Nelson J. Waterbury[24] | January 1, 1859 – January 1, 1862 | Democratic | |
18 | A. Oakey Hall | January 1, 1862 – January 1, 1871 | Republican (1861) Democratic (1864, 1867) | |
19 | Samuel B. Garvin[32] | January 5, 1869 – January 1, 1870 (acting) January 1, 1870 – January 1, 1873 | Democratic |
|
20 | Benjamin K. Phelps | January 1, 1873 – December 30, 1880 | Republican | |
– | Daniel G. Rollins[39] | January 3, 1881 – January 10, 1881 (acting) January 10, 1881 – January 1, 1882 (interim) | Republican |
|
21 | John McKeon | January 1, 1882 – November 22, 1883 | Democratic | |
– | John Vincent | November 22, 1883 – November 30, 1883 (acting) | Democratic |
|
– | Wheeler Hazard Peckham[46] | November 30, 1883 – December 9, 1883 (interim) | Democratic |
|
– | Peter B. Olney[48] | December 10, 1883 – January 1, 1885 (interim) | Democratic |
|
22 | Randolph B. Martine[49] | January 1, 1885 – January 1, 1888 | Democratic | |
23 | John R. Fellows | January 1, 1888 – January 1, 1891 | Democratic | |
24 | De Lancey Nicoll[56] | January 1, 1891 – January 1, 1894 | Democratic |
|
25 | John R. Fellows | January 1, 1894 – December 7, 1896 | Democratic | |
– | Vernon M. Davis[60] | December 7, 1896 – December 19, 1896 (acting) | Democratic |
|
– | William M. K. Olcott[62] | December 19, 1896 – January 1, 1898 (interim) | Republican |
|
26 | Asa Bird Gardiner[64] | January 1, 1898 – December 22, 1900 | Democratic | |
– | Eugene A. Philbin[67] | December 22, 1900 – January 1, 1902 (interim) | Democratic |
|
– | George W. Schurman[68] | January 1, 1902 (acting) | Republican | |
27 | William T. Jerome[71] | January 2, 1902 – January 1, 1910 | Fusion/Ind. |
|
28 | Charles Seymour Whitman[76] | January 1, 1910 – January 1, 1915 | Republican |
|
– | Charles A. Perkins[80] | January 1, 1915 – January 1, 1916 (interim) | Republican |
|
29 | Edward Swann[82] | January 1, 1916 – January 1, 1922 | Democratic |
|
30 | Joab H. Banton[84] | January 1, 1922 – January 1, 1930 | Democratic | |
31 | Thomas C. T. Crain[88] | January 1, 1930 – January 1, 1934 | Democratic | |
32 | William C. Dodge | January 1, 1934 – January 1, 1938 | Democratic | |
33 | Thomas E. Dewey[95] | January 1, 1938 – January 1, 1942 | Republican, American Labor, City Fusion | |
34 | Frank Hogan[98] | January 1, 1942 – August 10, 1973 | Democratic | |
– | Alfred J. Scotti[101] | August 10, 1973 – February 13, 1974 (acting) | Democratic | |
– | Richard Kuh[105] | February 13, 1974 – January 1, 1975 (interim) | Democratic |
|
35 | January 1, 1975 – January 1, 2010 | Democratic |
| |
36 | Cyrus Vance Jr. | January 1, 2010 – January 1, 2022 | Democratic | |
37 | Alvin Bragg | January 1, 2022 – incumbent | Democratic |
|