District Attorney of Queens County | |
---|---|
Type | District attorney |
Member of | District Attorneys Association of the State of New York [1] |
Term length | Four years |
Formation | February 12, 1796 |
First holder | Nathaniel Lawrence |
Website | www |
The District Attorney of Queens County is the elected district attorney for Queens County in New York State, coterminous with the New York City borough of Queens. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws. (Federal law violations in Queens are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York). The current Queens County District Attorney is Melinda Katz, who assumed the duties of the office on January 1, 2020. There was an inauguration on January 6, 2020 at her alma mater, St. Johns University.
In a legislative act of February 12, 1796, New York State was divided into seven districts, each with its own Assistant Attorney General. Queens County was part of the First District, which also included Kings, Richmond, Suffolk, and Westchester counties. (At that time, Queens County included much of present-day Nassau County, and Westchester County included present-day Bronx County.) In 1801, the office of Assistant Attorney General was renamed District Attorney. At the same time, New York County was added to the First District. Westchester County was separated from the First District in 1813, and New York County was separated in 1815. In 1818, all 13 districts were broken up, and each county in the State of New York became a separate district. [2] [3] [4]
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 County Court. Under the provisions of the State 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, the Governor of New York filled the vacancy temporarily until a successor was elected, always to a full term, at the next annual election. [5]
One year after the 1898 Consolidation of New York City, Nassau County was separated from Queens County. In case of a vacancy, a DA is appointed by the Governor to fill the office temporarily. A new DA is then elected at the next annual election in November, always to a full term. From 1847 to 1942, the term length was three years. In November 1942, a DA was elected to a one-year term. [6] From the election of November 1943, the DA has been elected to a four-year term.
No. | District attorney | Dates in office | Party | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nathaniel Lawrence | February 16, 1796 – July 15, 1797 | Dem.-Rep. | |
vacant | July 15, 1797 – January 16, 1798 | |||
2 | Cadwallader D. Colden | January 16, 1798 – August 19, 1801 | Federalist | |
3 | Richard Riker | August 19, 1801 – February 13, 1810 | Dem.-Rep. | |
4 | Cadwallader D. Colden | February 13, 1810 – February 19, 1811 | Federalist | |
5 | Richard Riker | February 19, 1811 – March 5, 1813 | Dem.-Rep. | |
6 | Barent Gardenier | March 5, 1813 – April 8, 1815 | Federalist | |
7 | Thomas S. Lester | April 8, 1815 – June 12, 1818 | ? | |
8 | Eliphalet Wickes | June 12, 1818 – 1821 | Dem.-Rep. | |
9 | William T. McCoun | 1821 – 1826 | ||
10 | Benjamin F. Thompson | 1826 – 1836 | ||
11 | William H. Barroll | May 3, 1836 – 1842 | ||
12 | Alexander Hadden | 1842 – 1845 | Whig | |
13 | John G. Lamberson | 1845 – December 31, 1853 |
| |
14 | William H. Onderdonk | January 1, 1854 – December 31, 1859 |
| |
15 | John J. Armstrong | January 1, 1860 – December 31, 1865 |
| |
16 | Benjamin W. Downing | January 1, 1866 – October 26, 1883 | Democratic | |
17 | John Fleming | October 27, 1883 – December 31, 1883 (interim) January 1, 1884 – December 31, 1886 | Democratic | |
18 | Thomas F. McGowan | January 1, 1887 – May 1, 1887 | Democratic |
|
- | Albert F. Cornelius | May 1, 1887 – June 13, 1887 (acting) | Democratic | |
19 | John Fleming (second term) | June 13, 1887 – August 10 (acting) August 10, 1887 – December 31, 1887 (interim) January 1, 1888 – December 31, 1893 | Democratic |
|
20 | Daniel Noble | January 1, 1894 – December 31, 1896 | Democratic | |
21 | William J. Youngs | January 1, 1897 – December 14, 1898 | Republican |
|
22 | George W. Davison | December 14, 1898 – January 2, 1899 (acting) January 2, 1899 – December 31, 1899 (interim) | Republican | |
23 | John B. Merrill | January 1, 1900 – December 31, 1902 | Democratic |
|
24 | George A. Gregg | January 1, 1903 – December 31, 1905 | Democratic |
|
25 | Ira G. Darrin | January 1, 1906 – December 31, 1908 | Municipal Ownership League | |
26 | Frederick G. DeWitt | January 1, 1909 – December 31, 1911 | Democratic | |
27 | Matthew J. Smith | January 1, 1912 – December 31, 1914 | Democratic | |
28 | Denis O'Leary | January 1, 1915 – December 31, 1920 | Democratic | |
Republican and Fusion | ||||
29 | Dana Wallace | January 1, 1921 – December 31, 1923 | Republican |
|
30 | Richard S. Newcombe | January 1, 1924 – December 31, 1929 | Democratic | |
31 | James T. Hallinan | January 1, 1930 – January 1, 1932 | Democratic | |
- | Charles P. Sullivan | January 1, 1932 – February 15, 1932 (acting) | Democratic |
|
32 | Charles S. Colden | February 15, 1932 – December 31, 1932 (interim) January 1, 1933 – January 7, 1935 | Democratic |
|
33 | Charles P. Sullivan | January 7, 1935 – December 31, 1951 | Democratic |
|
34 | T. Vincent Quinn | January 1, 1952 – December 31, 1955 | Democratic | |
35 | Frank D. O'Connor | January 1, 1956 – December 31, 1965 | Democratic | |
36 | Nat H. Hentel | December 31, 1965 – December 31, 1966 (interim) | Republican |
|
37 | Thomas J. Mackell | January 1, 1967 – April 23, 1973 | Democratic | |
- | Frederick J. Ludwig | April 23, 1973 – May 9, 1973 (acting) | Democratic |
|
38 | Michael F. Armstrong | May 9, 1973 – December 31, 1973 (interim) | Democratic |
|
39 | Nicholas Ferraro | January 1, 1974 – December 31, 1976 | Democratic |
|
40 | John J. Santucci | January 1, 1977 – December 31, 1977 (interim) January 1, 1978 – June 1, 1991 | Democratic | |
41 | Richard A. Brown | June 1, 1991 – December 31, 1991 (interim) January 1, 1992 – May 4, 2019 | Democratic | |
- | John M. Ryan | May 4, 2019 – December 31, 2019 (acting) | Independent | |
42 | Melinda Katz | January 1, 2020 – current | Democratic | |
The results of elections in the state of New York have tended to be more Democratic-leaning than in most of the United States, with in recent decades a solid majority of Democratic voters, concentrated in New York City and some of its suburbs, including Westchester County, Rockland County and Long Island's Nassau county, and in the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Ithaca.
Long Island, as a major region of New York State, has a significant impact on state and national politics. On the local level, the Republican Party is slightly more popular on Long Island.
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. The current district attorney is Alvin Bragg. He was elected in 2021 to succeed Cyrus Vance Jr.
The 115th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5 to April 26, 1892, during the first year of Roswell P. Flower's governorship, in Albany.
The 142nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 1 to June 16, 1919, during the first year of Al Smith's governorship, in Albany.
The New York City mayoral election of 1961 occurred on Tuesday, November 7, 1961. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. won a decisive re-election victory for a third term in office. Wagner defeated the Republican nominee, state Attorney General Louis J. Lefkowitz, and the Citizens Party nominee, New York City Comptroller Lawrence E. Gerosa. Wagner received 51.03% of the vote to Lefkowitz's 34.46%, a Democratic victory margin of 16.57%.
The 170th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5, 1955, to March 23, 1956, during the first and second years of W. Averell Harriman's governorship, in Albany.
The 175th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to June 23, 1965, during the seventh year of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany.
The city government of New York City controls a budget of about $78.3 billion a year, as of 2016. Officials receive municipal funding for their campaigns, and are elected for a maximum of two terms. City government is dominated by the Democratic Party, which also normally attracts majority support within the city in State, Congressional, and Presidential elections. The suffrage has been extended in stages since the founding of the state: African-Americans received the vote in 1870 and women in 1920. Since 1968, electoral district boundaries at all levels have been drawn so as to ensure minority representation.
John Joseph Santucci was an American lawyer and politician.
The 181st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 8, 1975, to August 5, 1976, during the first and second years of Hugh Carey's governorship in Albany.
The 185th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5, 1983, to December 31, 1984, during the first and second years of Mario Cuomo's governorship, in Albany.
The 189th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 9, 1991, to December 31, 1992, during the ninth and tenth years of Mario Cuomo's governorship, in Albany.
The Bronx County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for Bronx County, which is coterminous with the Borough of the Bronx, in New York City. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws.. The current Bronx County District Attorney is Darcel Clark.
Francis W. Martin was the first ever district attorney in Bronx County, New York and a judge on the New York Supreme Court from 1921 until his death.
The 1957 United States Senate special election in Texas was held on April 2, 1957 to complete the unexpired term of Senator Price Daniel, who resigned to become Governor of Texas. Interim Senator William Blakley did not run for re-election. Ralph Yarborough won the race with a plurality of the vote; no majority was required.
The Kings County District Attorney's Office, also known as the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, is the district attorney's office for Kings County, coterminous with the Borough of Brooklyn, in New York City. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of the laws of New York.. The current district attorney is Eric Gonzalez.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New York were held November 6, 2018 to elect a U.S. Representative from each of New York's 27 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the gubernatorial election, as well as an election to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
The Richmond County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for Richmond County, coterminous with the Borough of Staten Island, in New York City. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws, as violations of federal law in Richmond County are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. The current District Attorney is Michael McMahon.