The Alameda County District Attorney's Office is the legal agency charged with prosecuting felony and misdemeanor crimes in Alameda County, California. The most recent district attorney was Pamela Price, who served from 2023 until her recall in 2024. Her deputy, Royl Roberts, is serving as acting district attorney until a replacement can be appointed by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.[1]
| District Attorney of Alameda County | |
|---|---|
 Seal of Alameda County | |
 Flag of Alameda County | |
since December 5, 2024 | |
| Type | District attorney |
| Seat | René C. Davidson Courthouse Oakland, California |
| Formation | 1853 |
| First holder | William H. Combs |
| Salary | $382,741 (2023) |
| Website | da |
Occupants of this office have gone on to serve in the California State Legislature and the United States House of Representatives and as mayor of Oakland, attorney general of California, secretary of state of California, governor of California, and chief justice of the United States.
History
editThe Alameda County District Attorney's Office was created in 1853 upon the establishment of Alameda County. William H. Combs was appointed the first district attorney upon the office's creation. In the office's early decades, district attorneys often came from private practice and served short terms in office before either returning to private practice, becoming judges, or seeking higher political office.[2]
Earl Warren served as Alameda County district attorney from 1925 to 1939. He would later go on to serve one term as attorney general of California and three terms as governor of California, and he was also chosen by New York governor Thomas E. Dewey as the Republican vice presidential nominee in the 1948 presidential election. In 1953, he was nominated for chief justice of the United States by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and served until 1969.[3] The Warren Court handed down a number of landmark decisions, including Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States (1964), Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), Miranda v. Arizona (1966), and Loving v. Virginia (1967).[4]
In 2009, Nancy O'Malley became the first woman to serve as Alameda County district attorney. She retired in 2022 and vowed not to choose a successor, allowing the first open election for district attorney since Warren's retirement in 1938.[5] Pamela Price was elected to succeed her, becoming the county's first African American district attorney.[6] Price is also the county's first district attorney to be recalled, having lost a recall effort against her in 2024.[7]
List of Alameda County district attorneys
edit| # | Name | Term |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | William H. Combs | 1853–1854 |
| 2 | John S. Chipman | 1854–1855 |
| 3 | George M. Blake | 1855–1856 |
| 4 | William Van Voorhies | 1856–1857 |
| 5 | William H. Glascock | 1857–1859 |
| 6 | William W. Crane | 1859–1863 |
| 7 | Stephen G. Nye | 1863–1865 |
| 8 | George M. Blake | 1865–1869 |
| 9 | Oscar H. La Grange | 1869–1871 |
| 10 | Stephen P. Wright | 1869–1871 |
| 11 | A. A. Moore | 1871–1875 |
| 12 | John R. Glascock | 1875–1877 |
| 13 | Henry Vrooman | 1877–1879 |
| 14 | E. M. Gibson | 1879–1883 |
| 15 | Samuel P. Hall | 1883–1889 |
| 16 | George W. Reed | 1889–1893 |
| 17 | Charles E. Snook | 1893–1899 |
| 18 | John J. Allen | 1899–1907 |
| 19 | Everett Brown | 1907–1909 |
| 20 | William Donahue | 1909–1913 |
| 21 | William H. L. Hines | 1913–1917 |
| 22 | Ezra Decoto | 1917–1925 |
| 23 | Earl Warren | 1925–1939 |
| 24 | Ralph E. Hoyt | 1939–1947 |
| 25 | J. Frank Coakley | 1947–1969 |
| 26 | D. Lowell Jensen | 1969–1981 |
| 27 | John J. Meehan | 1981–1994 |
| 28 | Tom Orloff | 1994–2009 |
| 29 | Nancy O'Malley | 2009–2023 |
| 30 | Pamela Price | 2023–2024 |
| – | Royl Roberts | 2024–present |
References
edit- ^ Fang, Tim (2024-12-06). "Recalled Alameda Co. DA Pamela Price leaves office; supes to discuss appointment process - CBS San Francisco". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
- ^ "Our History – Office of the Alameda County District Attorney". da.alamedacountyca.gov. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
- ^ "Biography of Earl Warren". warren.ucsd.edu. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
- ^ "Earl Warren Court (1953-1969)". Justia Law. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
- ^ Morris, Scott (2021-07-15). "Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is stepping aside". The Oaklandside. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
- ^ "DA Pamela Price '82 describes making history — and change — in Alameda County". Berkeley Law. 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
- ^ "Alameda Co. DA Pamela Price concedes after being recalled by voters: Here's what's next". ABC7 San Francisco. 2024-11-18. Retrieved 2024-12-10.