Fulton County District Attorney (Georgia)

The Fulton County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for the Atlanta Judicial District, encompassing Fulton County, Georgia, as part of the Judiciary of Georgia.

History

The office was known as the Fulton County Solicitor General's Office until 1968, when a state constitutional amendment renamed all solicitors general who represent the state government in court cases as district attorneys. The modern Fulton County Solicitor General represents the county in court cases and exists as an elected office of the county government, separate from the Atlanta Judicial Circuit.

Prior to a 1966 constitutional amendment, all solicitors general were elected statewide, regardless of circuit of residency.

List of Fulton County District Attorneys

District attorney	Tenure	Notable cases	Notes
Charles D. Hill	-1907
N. J. Norman	1907-1909
Charles D. Hill	1909-1910		died in office
Hugh Dorsey	1910-1916	Murder trial of Leo Frank	resigned to run successfully for Governor [1] [2]
John A. Boykin	1917-1945	Atlanta graft ring
E. E. Andrews	1945-1949
Paul Webb	1949-1962
William T. Boyd	1962-1965		died in office
Lewis R. Slaton Jr	1965-1996	Atlanta murders of 1979–1981	[3]
Paul Howard Jr.	1997-2021	Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal	[4]
Fani Willis	2021-present	Georgia election racketeering prosecution, YSL Records racketeering trial	[5]

Notable employees in the District Attorney's Office

• Leroy R. Johnson, Criminal Investigator for the office from 1957-1962, first Black employee, later first Black member of the Georgia General Assembly
• Clarence Cooper, served as assistant district attorney in 1968 and from 1970 to 1975, first Black ADA

References

1. Stallings, Patricia. "Hugh M. Dorsey (1871-1948)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
2. "Georgia's Governor Youngest Man Ever to Hold That Office". Montgomery Advertiser . 1917-07-02. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-08-14– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Former Fulton DA dies at 80". AccessWDUN. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
4. Fennessy, Steve (2020-09-18). "Georgia Today: The Legacy Of Outgoing Fulton Co. DA Paul Howard". Georgia Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 2025-06-23.
5. Boone, Christian. "After historic victory, Fani Willis plans transformation of Fulton DA's office". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN   1539-7459 . Retrieved 2025-06-23.