Los Angeles County District Attorneys, from William C. Ferrell to George Gascón. Some (Thom, Drown, Howard) served more than one non-consecutive term. Los Angeles Almanac graphic.
The District Attorney (DA) of Los Angeles County is elected by the voters of Los Angeles County to serve as the county’s chief local prosecutor and law enforcement officer. The DA prosecutes serious criminal violations of state law (felonies) and violations ofcounty ordinances committed within Los Angeles County. The DA has the discretion to determine whether charges should be filed and may consider the likelihood that a jury would find a defendant guilty. The DA’s office is the largest local prosecutorial office in the nation It employs nearly 1,000 attorneys as prosecutors (deputy district attorneys) and nearly 300 sworn officers as investigators (DA investigators - the first three hired in 1910). It also employs more than 800 administrative support staff.
The District Attorney’s office also prosecutes less serious crimes (misdemeanors) in unincorporated areas of the county and in 78 of the county’s 88 incorporated cities. Ten of the county’s largest incorporated cities (including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Monica and Pasadena) employ their own city prosecutors to handle misdemeanor crimes and municipal code violations within their jurisdictions.
The District Attorney and deputy district attorneys represent both the people of Los Angeles County and the people of the State of California.
| District Attorney | Period in Office |
|---|---|
| William C. Ferrel | 1850-1851 |
| Isaac Ketih Ogier | 1851-1852 |
| Kimbal H. Dimmick | 1852-1853 |
| Benjamin Eaton | 1853-1854 |
| Cameron E. Thom | 1854-1857 |
| Ezra Drown | 1857-1859 |
| Edward J.C. Kewen | 1859-1861 |
| Ezra Drown | 1861-1863 |
| Volney E. Howard | 1863-1867 |
| Alfred B. Chapman | 1867-1869 |
| Cameron E. Thom | 1869-1873 |
| Volney E. Howard | 1873-1876 |
| Rodney Hudson | 1876-1877 |
| Cameron E. Thom | 1877-1879 |
| Thomas Brown Bruen | 1879-1882 |
| Stephen M. White | 1882-1884 |
| George M. Holten | 1884-1886 |
| George S. Patton | 1886-1887 |
| J.R. Dupuy | 1887-1888 |
| Frank P. Kelley | 1888-1890 |
| James McLachlan | 1890-1892 |
| Henry C. Dillon | 1892-1894 |
| John C. Donnel | 1894-1898 |
| James C. Rives | 1898-1902 |
| J.D. Fredericks | 1902-1914 |
| Thomas Lee Woolwins | 1914-1923 |
| Asa Keyes | 1923-1928 |
| Buron Fitts | 1928-1940 |
| John F. Dockweiler | 1940-1943 |
| Fred N. Hower | 1943-1946 |
| W.E. Simpson | 1946-1951 |
| S. Ernest Roll | 1951-1956 |
| William B. McKesson | 1956-1964 |
| Evelle J. Younger | 1964-1971 |
| Joseph P. Busch Jr. | 1971-1975 |
| John K. Van De Kamp | 1975-1983 |
| Robert Philibosian | 1983-1984 |
| Ira Reiner | 1984-1992 |
| Gil Garcetti | 1992-2000 |
| Steve Cooley | 2001-2012 |
| Jackie Lacey | 2012-2020 |
| George Gascón | 2020-present |
Jackie Lacey, who served as District Attorney of Los Angeles County from 2012 to 2020, was the first woman and first African American to serve in that office.
George S. Patton, who served as Los Angeles County District Attorney from 1886 to 1887, was the father of General George S. Patton, Jr., who later achieved fame as an American military commander during World War Two.
According to an article in The Appeal, Los Angeles County’s first District Attorney, William C. Ferrell, elected in 1850, had his salary augmented by winning prosecutions. When defendants weren’t found guilty, Ferrell did not make extra money. After a salary and caseload cut by the state legislature, he resigned when he felt that he wasn’t sufficiently compensated. His successor, Isaac Ogier, was among the founders of The Rangers, a vigilante group that reportedly lynched at least 22 people.
