# District Attorney of Richmond County (New York)

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.

## History

In a legislative act of February 12, 1796, New York State was divided into seven districts, each with its own Assistant Attorney General. Richmond County was part of the First District, which also included Kings, Queens, Suffolk, and Westchester counties. At that time, Queens County included much of present-day Nassau County, and Westchester County included present-day Bronx County. The Assistant Attorney General was renamed District Attorney on April 4, 1801, and New York County was added to the First District. Westchester was separated from the First District in 1813, and New York County was separated in 1815. The 13 districts that existed were divided so that each county became its own district by a law passed on April 21, 1818.
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 New York State Constitution of 1821, the D.A. was appointed to a three-year term by the County Court, and under the provisions of the Constitution of 1846, the office became elective by popular ballot.
In case of a vacancy, the Governor of New York appoints an interim district attorney who serves until a successor is elected at the next annual election. The term was increased to four years for the Richmond County District Attorney in 1937.

## List of District Attorneys

| District Attorney | Dates in Office | Party | Notes |
| Nathaniel Lawrence | February 16, 1796 – July 15, 1797 | Dem.-Rep. | died |
| vacant | July 15, 1797 - January 16, 1798 | | |
| Cadwallader D. Colden | January 16, 1798 – August 19, 1801 | Federalist | |
| Richard Riker | August 19, 1801 – February 13, 1810 | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Cadwallader D. Colden | February 13, 1810 – February 19, 1811 | Federalist | |
| Richard Riker | February 19, 1811 – March 5, 1813 | Dem.-Rep. | |
| Barent Gardenier | March 5, 1813 – April 8, 1815 | Federalist | |
| Thomas S. Lester | April 8, 1815 – June 11, 1818 | ? | |
| George Metcalfe | June 11, 1818 | ? | |
| Henry B. Metcalfe | 1826 | ? | |
| Thomas S. Kingsland | 1833 | ? | |
| George Catlin | 1839 | ? | |
| Roderick N. Morrison | 1840 | ? | |
| Lot C. Clark | 1841 – 1849 | ? | appointed elected to a three-year term resigned |
| George Catlin | November 28, 1849 | ? | |
| George White | January 1, 1851 – December 31, 1853 | ? | elected to a three-year term |
| Alfred De Groot | January 1, 1854 – December 31, 1859 | ? | elected to two three-year term |
| Abraham W. Winant | January 1, 1860 – December 31, 1865 | ? | elected to two three-year terms |
| John H. Hedley | January 1, 1866 – December 31, 1871 | ? | elected to two three-year terms |
| Sidney Fuller Rawson | January 1, 1872 – December 31, 1874 | Democratic | elected to a three-year term did not run for re-election |
| John Croak | January 1, 1875 – December 31, 1880 | Democratic | elected to two three-year terms |
| George Gallagher | January 1, 1881 – December 31, 1889 | Democratic | elected to three three-year terms lost the nomination to Fitzgerald at the county Democratic convention |
| Thomas W. Fitzgerald | January 1, 1890 – December 31, 1895 | Democratic | elected to two three-year terms |
| George M. Pinney Jr. | January 1, 1896 – December 31, 1898 | Republican | elected to a three-year term |
| Edward Sidney Rawson | January 1, 1899 – December 31, 1904 | Democratic | elected to two three-year term |
| John J. Kenney | January 1, 1905 – December 31, 1907 | Democratic | elected to a three-year term |
| Samuel H. Evins | January 1, 1908 – December 31, 1910 | Democratic | elected to a three-year term |
| Albert C. Fach | January 1, 1911 – December 31, 1919 | Democratic | elected to three three-year terms did not run for re-election |
| Joseph H. Maloy | January 1, 1920 – January 1, 1924 | Democratic | elected to two three-year terms resigned to become a judge on the Court of Special Sessions |
| ? | January 1, 1924 – February 9, 1924 (acting) | |
| Albert C. Fach | February 9, 1924 – December 31, 1925 (interim) January 1, 1926 – December 31, 1931 | Democratic | appointed by Governor Al Smith for the remainder of the year elected to the remainder of Maloy’s term elected to two three-year terms |
| Thomas J. Walsh | January 1, 1932 – December 30, 1936 | Democratic | elected to two three-year terms resigned to accept the seat as a municipal court judge to which he had been elected in November |
| ? | December 31, 1936 – January 6, 1937 (acting) | |
| Frank H. Innes | January 7, 1937 – December 31, 1937 (interim) January 1, 1938 – December 31, 1941 | Democratic | appointed by Governor Herbert H. Lehman for the remainder of Walsh’s term elected to a four-year term |
| Farrell M. Kane | January 1, 1942 – August 4, 1947 | Democratic | elected to a four-year term, then to a four-year term resigned to accept a nomination to in the primary election for City Court Judge |
| Herman Methfessel | August 4, 1947 – August 13, 1947 (acting) | Democratic | became acting district attorney upon Kane’s resignation |
| Robert E. Johnson | August 13, 1947 – December 31, 1947 (interim) | Republican | appointed by Governor Dewey to serve the remainder of the year lost election to Methfessel |
| Herman Methfessel | January 1, 1948 – December 31, 1951 | Democratic | elected to a four-year term lost election to Simonson |
| Sidney O. Simonson | January 1, 1952 – December 31, 1955 | Republican-Liberal | elected to a four-year term over Methfessel lost election to Braisted |
| John M. Braisted Jr. | January 1, 1956 – December 31, 1975 | Democratic-Liberal | elected to five four-year terms retired, did not run for re-election |
| Thomas R. Sullivan | January 1, 1976 – November 1982 | Democratic-Conservative | elected to two three-year term resigned to run for a seat as a New York Supreme Court justice |
| William L. Murphy | November 1982 – March 1983 (acting) March 1983 – December 31, 1983 (interim) January 1, 1984 – December 31, 2003 | Democratic-Conservative | became acting district attorney upon Sullivan’s resignation appointed by Governor Mario M. Cuomo for the remainder of Sullivan’s term elected to five four-year terms retired, did not run for re-election |
| Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. | January 1, 2004 – May 12, 2015 | Republican | elected to three four-year terms resigned after winning a special election for an open congressional seat |
| Daniel L. Master, Jr. | May 12, 2015 – December 31, 2015 (acting) | Republican | became acting district attorney after Donovan’s resignation |
| Michael McMahon | January 1, 2016 – current | Democratic | elected to three four-year terms |