San Francisco District Attorney's Office Explained

Post:District Attorney
Body:the
City and County of
San Francisco
Flag:Flag of San Francisco.svg
Flagsize:100px
Flagcaption:Flag of San Francisco
Insignia:Seal of San Francisco.svg
Insigniasize:100px
Insigniacaption:Seal of San Francisco
Incumbent:Brooke Jenkins
Incumbentsince:July 8, 2022
Type:District attorney
Formation:1856
First:Henry H. Byrne
Salary:$339,300 (2024)

The San Francisco District Attorney's Office is the legal agency charged with prosecuting crimes in the City and County of San Francisco, California, under California state law. The current district attorney is Brooke Jenkins. Occupants of this office have gone on to higher elected offices, including: governor of California, United States senator, and vice president of the United States.

History

After the Consolidation Act of 1856 consolidated San Francisco as a city and a county, Henry H. Byrne was elected as the first District Attorney.[1] Twenty-seven people have held the title since Byrne, including Boudin.[1]

Kamala D. Harris (2004–2011)

See main article: 2003 San Francisco District Attorney election.

On January 8, 2004, Kamala Harris was sworn in as the first female, first Jamaican American, and first Indian American district attorney of San Francisco after having defeated Terence Hallinan. She would serve as the first Indian American district attorney in U.S. history, and the first Jamaican American district attorney in California. Harris was re-elected in 2007 running unopposed, and was sworn in for her second term by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. Subsequently, Harris became Attorney General of California in 2011, U.S. Senator in 2017, and Vice President of the United States in 2021.

George Gascón (2011–2019)

On January 9, 2011, Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed SFPD Chief George Gascón as district attorney to succeed Kamala Harris, who had been elected California attorney general in November 2010. Gascón was subsequently elected in his own right in November 2011. On October 2, 2018, Gascón announced that he would not seek re-election, citing his mother's health.[2] On October 3, 2019, Gascón announced that he would resign as district attorney on October 18 in order to explore a run for Los Angeles district attorney.[3]

2019 district attorney election

See main article: 2019 San Francisco District Attorney election. After Gascón announced in 2018 that he would not seek re-election, San Francisco anticipated its first open race for district attorney since 1909,[4] with candidates Chesa Boudin, Leif Dautch, Suzy Loftus, and Nancy Tung entering the race.[5] After Gascón announced his resignation in October 2019 prior to the November 2019 election, Mayor London Breed appointed candidate Suzy Loftus as interim district attorney, whom Breed had endorsed in the November 2019 election.[5] Loftus served as interim district attorney from October 19, 2019, until January 8, 2020, when winning candidate Boudin took office.[5] [6] [7]

Chesa Boudin (2020–2022)

Chesa Boudin was sworn in as district attorney on January 8, 2020.[8] Heavily criticized for his perceived softness on crime, Boudin was the subject of a recall election on June 7, 2022. In the recall election, 55.05% of voters supported removing him from office.[9] [10] Mayor London Breed, who had backed a more moderate Democrat in the 2019 district attorney race, named Brooke Jenkins, a former corporate lawyer and prosecutor in the district attorney's office as Boudin's replacement.[11]

List of San Francisco district attorneys

District attorneyTenure
1856
1857
1858–1861
1861–1868
1868–1872
1872–1874
1874–1876
1876–1880
1880–1882
1882
1883–1885
1885–1887
1887–1889
1889–1891
1891–1898
1899–1900
1900–1905
1906–1910
1910–1919
1920–1943
1943–1951
1951–1964
1964–1976
1976–1980
1980–1996
1996–2004
2004–2011
2011–2019
(interim) 2019–2020
2020–2022
2022–present

Notes and References

  1. Web site: History of the San Francisco District Attorney's Office . City and County of San Francisco . October 13, 2019 . October 13, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191013195114/http://www.sfdistrictattorney.org/history-san-francisco-district-attorneys-office . dead .
  2. Web site: Sernoffsky . Evan . SF District Attorney George Gascón decides not to seek re-election . sfchronicle.com . San Francisco Chronicle . 13 October 2019 . 2 October 2019.
  3. News: Lagos . Marisa . San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon Resigns . 4 October 2019 . KQED . 3 October 2019.
  4. Web site: Redmond . Tim . Gascon will step down — but who will step up? . 48hills.org . San Francisco Progressive Media Center . 13 October 2019 . 3 October 2018.
  5. Web site: Wolffe . Kate . Green . Matthew . S.F. Mayor Breed Picks Suzy Loftus as Interim DA to Replace Gascón, One Month Before Election . kqed.org . KQED . 13 October 2019 . 4 October 2019.
  6. Web site: Suzy Loftus sworn in as interim district attorney. October 19, 2019. The San Francisco Examiner.
  7. Web site: Sernoffsky. Evan. Chesa Boudin, reformer public defender, wins election as San Francisco's new DA. San Francisco Chronicle. November 9, 2019. November 10, 2019.
  8. Web site: Sernoffsky . Evan . New SF District Attorney Chesa Boudin fires several prosecutors . sfchronicle.com . San Francisco Chronicle . 13 January 2020 . 10 January 2020.
  9. Web site: June 7, 2022 Election Results - Summary . City and County of San Francisco - Department of Elections . 8 June 2022.
  10. News: Har . Janie . San Francisco ousts liberal DA Chesa Boudin in heated recall . 8 June 2022 . Associated Press News.
  11. Web site: White . Jeremy B. . London Breed replaces ousted DA Chesa Boudin with recall proponent Brooke Jenkins . 2022-07-13 . POLITICO . en.