PHILADELPHIA (Sept. 19, 2022) – Following is a timeline of responses, which include a legal challenge, filed by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office to a Pennsylvania House Select Committee’s politically motivated effort to remove twice-elected chief prosecutor Larry Krasner from office — despite there being no allegation of crime or official misconduct, unlike several other Pennsylvania DAs.
- September 2, 2022: The Philadelphia DAO files a 40-page Petition for Review in the Commonwealth Court, essentially challenging the PA House’s selective targeting of Larry Krasner and requesting that the Select Committee’s subpoena be quashed and the Select Committee’s investigation enjoined. The Philadelphia DAO’s legal challenge is in accordance with procedure established by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court: https://phillyda.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-02-Phila-DAO-Krasner-Petition-for-Review-Exhibits-1.pdf
- September 12, 2022: The Philadelphia DAO submits a response to the Select Committee outlining why certain privileged materials demanded by the committee — including documents related to a live prosecution of a former Philadelphia Police officer, which are covered by grand jury law — cannot lawfully be released by the DAO: https://phillyda.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022.09.12-DAO-Response-to-Show-Cause-.pdf
- September 19, 2022: The Philadelphia DAO again explains to Rep. John Lawrence, chair of the Select Committee, that “Prosecutors are prohibited by law from disclosing grand jury materials and can even go to jail for doing so (https://phillyda.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022.09.19-Ltr.-to-M.-Rush.pdf). Further: “The Select Committee also rushed the contempt resolution through the House without affording District Attorney Krasner basic due process, including the opportunity to appear before the House and explain why his office did not – and could not under the law – produce grand jury and other materials sought by the Subpoena. District Attorney Krasner was not informed that the House would be considering a House resolution to hold him in contempt. Nor was he given the opportunity to appear before the House prior to its vote. When we learned about the contempt proceedings during House debate on the resolution and emailed you and faxed the Speaker of the House to demand an immediate opportunity for District Attorney Krasner to be heard, you and the Speaker of the House ignored that request.” However, “In light of the House’s improperly obtained contempt finding and to move past the Select Committee’s deceptive posturing and political gamesmanship, the DAO is producing today hundreds of pages of non-privileged policies relating to prosecuting crime. These include those freely-available on the website as well as additional ones that have been located to date.”
The Philadelphia DAO also has transmitted its letter to the Select Committee to the Pennsylvania House minority via caucus leadership, along with an FAQ to address misinformation or misunderstanding among its members: https://phillyda.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Philly-DAs-Office-PA-House-FAQs.pdf. All future responses that are non-privileged will be shared with the public via https://linktr.ee/phillydalarrykrasner.
CONTACT:Jane Roh, 215-686-8711, [email protected]
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The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is the largest prosecutor’s office in Pennsylvania, and one of the largest in the nation. It serves the more than 1.5 million residents of the City and County of Philadelphia, employing 600 lawyers, detectives, and support staff. The District Attorney’s Office is responsible for the prosecution of approximately 40,000 criminal cases annually. Learn more about the DAO by visiting PhillyDA.org.