District Attorney of Philadelphia

District Attorney of Philadelphia
Incumbent
Larry Krasner
since January 1, 2018
Term length4 years
Formation1850
First holderHorn R. Kneass
Salary$ 175,576 (2017)

The office of the District Attorney of Philadelphia is the largest prosecutor's office in the state of Pennsylvania and oversees a jurisdiction that includes more than 1.5 million citizens of both the city and county of Philadelphia.[1] The current District Attorney of Philadelphia is Larry Krasner. The district attorney represents the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City & County of Philadelphia in all criminal and other prosecutions.[2]

The district attorney is an elected office, and terms begin on the first Monday in January following the election.[2] Prior to 1850, the functions of this office were performed by a deputy state attorney-general. An Act of 3 May 1850 P.L. 654 authorized the voters of each of Pennsylvania's counties to elect one person, of requisite legal background to serve as district attorney for a term of three years.[2] The term was extended to four years under the State Constitution of 1874, Article 14.[2][3]

  1. ^ Phila.Gov | Office of the District Attorney : R. Seth Williams:
  2. ^ a b c d John Hill Martin (1883). Martin's bench and bar of Philadelphia:together with other lists of persons appointed to administer the laws in the city and county of Philadelphia, and the province and commonwealth of Pennsylvania. R. Welsh & co. p. 87.
  3. ^ [1] District Attorney, Office of the: Agency Information