List of California district attorneys
This is a list of notable people who have held the role of district attorney in California.
List by county
Counties (A-M)
Alameda County
- Earl Warren[1] (1925-1939)
- Tom Orloff (1994-2009)
- Nancy O'Malley (2009-2023)
- Pamela Price (2023-2024) (Democratic)
- Royl Roberts (interim) (2024-2025)
- Ursula Jones Dickson (2025-present) (Democratic)
Alpine County
- Christopher W. Smith (1977-1981)
- Robert Priscaro (2022-present)
Amador County
- Robert M. Briggs (1862-1867, 1871)
- Anthony Caminetti (1878-1882) (Democratic)
- Gale Cuneo (1979-1983)
Butte County
- Albert F. Jones (1883-1884)
- Michael L. Ramsey (1987-present)
Calaveras County
- William Higby (1853-1859)
Colusa County
- John Poynder[2] (1984-2016)
Contra Costa County[3]
- John A. Nejedly (1958-1969)
- Mark Peterson (2010-2017)
- Diana Becton (2017-present) (Democratic)[4][5]
Del Norte County
El Dorado County
- Silas Sanderson (1861-1864)
- Gideon J. Carpenter
Fresno County[8]
- Campbell E. Beaumont (1918-1921)
- Glenn M. DeVore (1926-1934)
Glenn County[9]
Humboldt County[10]
- Walter Van Dyke[11] (1854-1855)
- John J. De Haven (1967-1869)
- Terry Farmer (1983-2002)
- Paul Gallegos (2002-2014)
- Maggie Fleming (2015-2022)
- Stacy Eads (2022- present)
Imperial County
- John Morton Eshleman (1907-1910)
- Phil Swing (1911-1915)
Inyo County
- H.L. Gibbons[12] (1974-1997)
Kern County
- Ed Jagels (1983-2010)
Kings County
- Justin Miller (1915-1918)
Lake County
Lassen County
Los Angeles County[13]
- Kimball H. Dimmick (1852-1853)
- Cameron E. Thom (1854-1857, 1869-1873, 1877-1879)
- Ezra Drown (1857-1859, 1961-1863)
- Edward J. C. Kewen (1859-1861)
- Alfred Chapman (1863-1864, 1867-1869)
- Volney Howard (1864-1867, 1873-1876)
- Stephen M. White (1882-1884)
- George S. Patton (1887-1887) (Democratic)
- James McLachlan (1890-1892) (Republican)
- John D. Fredericks (1903-1915) (Republican)
- Thomas L. Woolwine (1915-1923) (Democratic)
- Asa Keyes (1923-1928) (Republican)
- Buron Fitts (1928-1940) (Republican)
- John F. Dockweiler (1940-1943) (Democratic)
- Frederick N. Howser (1943-1946) (Republican)
- Evelle J. Younger (1964-1971) (Republican)
- Joseph P. Busch (1970-1975)
- John Van de Kamp (1975-1981) (Democratic)
- Robert Philibosian (1982-1984) (Republican)
- Ira Reiner (1984-1992) (Democratic)
- Gil Garcetti (1992-2000) (Republican)
- Steve Cooley (2000-2012) (Republican)
- Jackie Lacey (2012-2020) (Democratic)
- George Gascón (2020-2024) (Democratic)
- Nathan Hochman (2024-present) (Independent)
Madera County
- David Minier (1976-1991)
Marin County[14]
- Thomas J. Bowers (1873-1879)
- Frank M. Angellotti (1885-1891) (Republican)[15]
- Richard M. Sims Jr. (1950-1953)
Mariposa County
Mendocino County[16]
- Frank S. Petersen (1960-1962)
- C. David Eyster (2011-present)
Merced County[17]
- Peter D. Wigginton (1864-1868)
- John Witherspoon Breckinridge (1890-1892)
- Nicole Silveira (2022-present)
Modoc County
- John E. Raker (1895-1899)
Mono County
- George N. Whitman (1868)
Monterey County
- Delos R. Ashley (1851-1852)
- Bradley V. Sargent Jr. (1890-1892)
Counties (N-Z)
Napa County
- Frank Coombs (1880-1885)
- Theodore Arlington Bell (1895-1903)
- Allison Haley (2016-present)
Nevada County
- John R. McConnell (1852)
- William M. Stewart (1852-1853)
- Niles Searls (1983)
- John Isaiah Caldwell (1870-1871)
- Aaron A. Sargent (1885/86-1886) (Republican)
Orange County
- Tony Rackauckas (1999-2019)
- Todd Spitzer (2019-present)
Placer County
- Jo Hamilton (1860, 1862)
Plumas County
- Ulysses S. Webb (1890-1902)
Riverside County
- Rod Pacheco (2007-2011)
- Michael Hestrin (2014-present) (Republican)[18]
Sacramento County
- Frank Hereford (1855-1857)
- William W. Upton (1861-1864)
- Robert F. Morrison
- Steve White (1989-1995)
- Anne Marie Schubert (2014-2023)
- Thien Ho (2022-present)
San Benito County
- George H. Moore (1917-1927)
San Bernardino County[19]
- Michael A. Ramos (2002-2019) (Republican)
- Jason Anderson (2019-present)
San Diego County[20]
- Thomas W. Sutherland (1851-1852)
- William Jefferson Hunsaker (1882-1884)
- Spencer M. Marsh (1915-1917)
- Bonnie Dumanis (2003-2017) (Republican)
- Summer Stephan (2017-present) (Republican)
San Francisco County (City and County of San Francisco)
- Lewis Francis Byington (1900-1905) (Democratic)
- William Langdon (1906-1910)
- Charles Fickert (1910-1920)
- Matthew Brady (1920-1944) (Democratic)
- Pat Brown (1944-1951) (Democratic)
- Thomas C. Lynch (1951-1964) (Democratic)
- John J. Ferdon (1964-1976)
- Joseph Freitas Jr. (1976-1980)
- Arlo Smith (1980-1996) (Democratic)
- Terence Hallinan (1996-2004) (Democratic)
- Kamala Harris (2004-2011) (Democratic)
- George Gascón (2011-2019) (Democratic)
- Suzy Loftus (interim) (2019-2020) (Democratic)
- Chesa Boudin (2020-2022) (Democratic)
- Brooke Jenkins (2022-present) (Democratic)
San Joaquin County
- Forsythe Charles Clowdsley (1937)
San Luis Obispo County
- Gerald Shea (1998-2013)
San Mateo County
- Charles N. Fox (1858-1862)
Santa Barbara County
- David Minier (1967-1975)
- Thomas W. Sneddon Jr. (1983-2007)
Santa Clara County[21]
- Augustus Rhodes (1859-1860)
Santa Cruz County
- James Harvey Logan (1872-1873, 1875-1880)
- W. D. Storey (1879)
- William T. Jeter (1884-1892)
- Christopher Cottle (1975-1977)
Shasta County[22]
- Jesse W. Carter (1919-1927)
- McGregor W. Scott (1997-2003)
Sierra County
- Tirey L. Ford (1988-1990) (Republican)
Siskiyou County[23]
Solano County
- Joseph McKenna (1866-1868)
- Abram J. Buckles (1879-1884)
- Krishna Abrams (2014-present)
Sonoma County
- Clarence F. Lea (1907-1917)
- Emmett Seawell (1892-1902)
Stanislaus County
- Sherrill Halbert (1949-1954)
- Birgit Fladager (2006-2023)
Sutter County
- Carl Adams[24] (1982-2013)
Tehama County
- Clair Engle (1934-1942)
- Gregg Cohen[25] (1998-2018)
Trinity County
- John Chilton Burch (1853-1856)
- Donna Daly[26] (2018-2020)
Tulare County
Tuolumne County
- Caleb Dorsey (1856-1857)
- John Curtin (1892-1898)
Ventura County[27]
Yolo County
- Charles H. Garoute (1877-1879)
Yuba County
- Isaac S. Belcher (1856-1857) (Know Nothing)
- Edwin Alexander Forbes (1894-1897)
Deputy district attorneys
References
- ^ Cray, Ed (1997). Chief Justice: A Biography of Earl Warren. Simon and Schuster. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-0-684-80852-9.
- ^ Rachel Rosenbaum (September 27, 2016). "32 years a D.A." Colusa County Sun-Herald. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "History of the Office". ContraCosta.ca.gov. Contra Costa District Attorney. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ Alvero, Erika (September 19, 2017). "Diana Becton sworn in as Contra Costa district attorney". DanvilleSanRamon.com. Embarcadero Media. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
- ^ Gartrell, Nate (June 14, 2018). "Graves concedes; Diana Becton likely Contra Costa's first elected African-American, woman DA". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on February 11, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
- ^ "Former DA files suit against Del Norte County, Crescent City; Riese demanding a jury trial for his multiple-defendant case". Times-Standard. July 30, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ Charles Piller (October 24, 2014). "Former Del Norte DA disbarred". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "History of the DA's Office". Fresno County District Attorney. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ Dominic Brock. "History of Glenn County District Attorneys". County of Glenn California. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ Jeremiah R. Scott, Jr. "District Attorneys Reflect Diversity of County" (PDF). Humboldt County Historical Society. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ Shuck, Oscar Tully (1901). History of the Bench and Bar of California: Being Biographies of Many Remarkable Men, a Store of Humorous and Pathetic Recollections, Accounts of Important Legislation and Extraordinary Cases, Comprehending the Judicial History of the State. Los Angeles, CA: Commercial Printing House. p. 496. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
walter van dyke oscar tully shuck.
- ^ Myrna Oliver (May 5, 2011). "H.L. Gibbons: Inyo D.A. Fought DWP Over Owens Valley Water". LA Times. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "Office History". da.lacounty.gov. Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "Past District Attorneys". Marin County DA. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "Past District Attorneys: Frank M. Angellotti". Marin County, California. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ "Office History". County of Mendocino. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "Merced County District Attorneys 1855-Present". Merced County District Attorney's Office. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, DA Mike Hestrin get 2 more years in office". The Press-Enterprise. October 21, 2022.
- ^ "Previous District Attorneys". San Bernardino County. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ Gayle Falkenthal (1999). "The District Attorney's Office: A Brief History" (PDF). Law Enforcement Quarterly. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "History of the District Attorneys Office". County of Santa Clara. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "Shasta County District Attorneys History 1851 to Present". County of Shasta. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "Past District Attorneys". Siskiyou County. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ Harold Kruger (October 1, 2013). "Sutter County DA Adams retiring amid scandal". Appeal-Democrat. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ Alayna Shulman (March 9, 2018). "After 20 years, Tehama district attorney has 'heavy heart' over decision not to run again". Record Searchlight. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "Donna Daly Obituary". Trinity County. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "Pride in the Past...Faith in the Future". Ventura County District Attorney. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ Jones, Aphrodite (2003). Red Zone: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the San Francisco Dog Mauling. New York: William Morrow. ISBN 0-06-053779-5.