By Dustin Slaughter
Before joining the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office in 2021, Pittston, Pennsylvania native Stephen Girman had been quietly laying the foundation for a career in prosecution, clerking for Judge Frank Palumbo, and becoming more familiar with the nuts-and-bolts of the Juanita Kidd Stout Criminal Justice Center than many seasoned trial attorneys.
“I decided early on that I didn’t want to spend my time like most law clerks, writing opinions and doing research in the judge’s chambers.” Girman made the courtroom his office and volunteered for anything that would extend his knowledge of the inner workings of Philadelphia’s criminal justice system. Escorting defendants to the CJC basement for probation intake, handing out subpoenas in the courtroom, and managing the court’s calendar, he quickly gained a reputation for helping one of the busiest rooms in the justice center to run efficiently.
Before graduating from the Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Drexel University in 2012, Girman interned at the DAO in the Motions Unit, where he handled a vast array of miscellaneous motions that lie at the heart of Philadelphia’s criminal practice. “It was a crossroads for everything. You could be handling a summary trial for a traffic violation, then move right into a major felony refile, extradite defendants to other states, and handle a few dozen expungements, all on one court list.”
The miscellaneous motions room also handles Nebbia petitions, which involve hearings to determine the legitimacy of funds used to post bail, mostly in drug trafficking cases. “I was fascinated by these hearings with defendants who were involved in this highly organized, detrimental activity, juxtaposed with family members who had to testify, and prove their hard-earned income, so that they could be allowed to post bail for their loved ones.”
This introduction to the narcotics world drove Girman to pursue a specialization in drug cases. “So much of what we see as prosecutors is downstream from drug trafficking, including crimes committed for drug money, homelessness, and mental illness. Many of these issues feed each other. Understanding this made me want to work on major drug investigations.” After joining the office, Girman accumulated experience in multiple DAO units, including Juvenile Court, briefly becoming the assigned attorney for the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court program, before moving on to felony trials and juries. He also joined the Pretrial Unit, compiling discovery and making pretrial offers for the bulk of major felony cases.
In 2024, Girman achieved his goal of joining the DAO’s special narcotics investigations unit, the Dangerous Drug Offender Unit (DDOU). DDOU attorneys work hand-in-hand with the investigating officers, detectives, and agents to build cases against major traffickers. “What sets us apart is a suite of electronic surveillance techniques which require an application from a prosecutor and approval from a judge before they can be implemented. The District Attorney designates ADAs in investigative units with the authority to make these applications.”
Girman and the Dangerous Drug Offender Unit work with multiple units within the DAO, as well as local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, including DEA and FBI task force, State Police, and neighboring county detective bureaus. He enjoys the unique challenges presented in cases where both law enforcement and criminal organizations are working on the cutting edge of technology. “It’s a chess match. We use investigative techniques. The drug traffickers use techniques to hide their activity, and we change techniques to try to overcome what they do.”
Girman has been the supervising attorney for several long-term wiretap investigations, which resulted in the seizure of bulk amounts of drugs, firearms, and over one million dollars in drug proceeds.
Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his son, cooking, and being outdoors.