Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley took the oath of office for the fourth time this evening, entering his third full term as the chief law enforcement officer for Boston Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop at his alma mater, Suffolk University School of Law. 

“It’s no accident that district attorneys are the only members of the criminal justice system who are elected to office and stand directly accountable to the people they serve,” Conley said in remarks after leading 138 assistant district attorneys in their own oaths. “It is necessary and right that we prove ourselves worthy, in character and conduct, of the enormous powers we wield.” 

Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts administered the oath of office to DA Conley.

First appointed Suffolk DA in 2002, Conley won re-election to the post later the same year, again in 2006, and most recently in 2010. A former homicide prosecutor himself, he enters his new term with a homicide conviction rate of better than 87% for 2010 and 84% over the past four years. 

“If your goal as a lawyer is to win at all costs, then I wish you luck in private practice because this office is not the place for you,” Conley said. “A record of courtroom victories is not the same as a reputation for the vigorous, careful, and ethical pursuit of justice. In fact, it isn’t even close.” 

Under Conley’s leadership, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office has taken aggressive action to confront, address, and prevent wrongful convictions. Suffolk prosecutors – and the police departments of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop – now use what one academic called “the gold standard” for eyewitness identification evidence – a leading cause of those miscarriages of justice. Conley instituted a policy of assenting to post-conviction DNA testing, as well, allowing incarcerated defendants access to testing that was unavailable at the time of trial. 

DA Conley speaks following his swearing-in ceremony at the Suffolk University School of Law.

“This office has built a reputation for honesty, integrity, fairness, and compassion,” Conley said. “We’ve earned a reputation for reform and innovation that sets us apart from any prosecutor’s office anywhere …. It’s been built across the years, across tens of thousands of cases, by men and women who came before us and by all of you here today.” 

Conley’s anti-crime initiatives include the implementation of a specialized Gun Court to prosecute cases of firearms possession more rapidly and consistently; the enhancement of penalties for witness intimidation and creation of a Witness Protection Fund to allow those witnesses to testify safely; and bringing a second grand jury to Suffolk County, unique in the Commonwealth, to use exclusively in homicide and complex gang-related cases. 

“We bring order to chaos, quell violence and restore peace, make our communities safer, give comfort to victims, and lend a voice to the voiceless,” he said. “This is a noble calling. It is a sacred trust. I’m proud of each of you who has heard this calling and shouldered this responsibility.” 

Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts administered the oath of office to Conley. Assistant District Attorney Paul Linn, deputy chief of the DA’s Appeals Unit, led the office in the National Anthem and, later, a rendition of God Bless America. Conley’s daughter, Christine, recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Former Suffolk prosecutor Rahsaan Hall, now a Boston minister and an attorney for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, gave the invocation, and Assistant District Attorney Joseph Ditkoff, deputy chief legal counsel to the district attorney, gave the benediction.

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley took the oath of office for the fourth time this evening, entering his third full term as the chief law enforcement officer for Boston Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop at his alma mater, Suffolk University School of Law. 

“It’s no accident that district attorneys are the only members of the criminal justice system who are elected to office and stand directly accountable to the people they serve,” Conley said in remarks after leading 138 assistant district attorneys in their own oaths. “It is necessary and right that we prove ourselves worthy, in character and conduct, of the enormous powers we wield.” 

First appointed Suffolk DA in 2002, Conley won re-election to the post later the same year, again in 2006, and most recently in 2010. A former homicide prosecutor himself, he enters his new term with a homicide conviction rate of better than 87% for 2010 and 84% over the past four years. 

“”If your goal as a lawyer is to win at all costs, then I wish you luck in private practice because this office is not the place for you,” Conley said. “A record of courtroom victories is not the same as a reputation for the vigorous, careful, and ethical pursuit of justice. In fact, it isn’t even close.” 

Under Conley’s leadership, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office has taken aggressive action to confront, address, and prevent wrongful convictions. Suffolk prosecutors – and the police departments of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop – now use what one academic called “the gold standard” for eyewitness identification evidence – a leading cause of those miscarriages of justice. Conley instituted a policy of assenting to post-conviction DNA testing, as well, allowing incarcerated defendants access to testing that was unavailable at the time of trial. 

“This office has built a reputation for honesty, integrity, fairness, and compassion,” Conley said. “We’ve earned a reputation for reform and innovation that sets us apart from any prosecutor’s office anywhere …. It’s been built across the years, across tens of thousands of cases, by men and women who came before us and by all of you here today.” 

Conley’s anti-crime initiatives include the implementation of a specialized Gun Court to prosecute cases of firearms possession more rapidly and consistently; the enhancement of penalties for witness intimidation and creation of a Witness Protection Fund to allow those witnesses to testify safely; and bringing a second grand jury to Suffolk County, unique in the Commonwealth, to use exclusively in homicide and complex gang-related cases. 

“We bring order to chaos, quell violence and restore peace, make our communities safer, give comfort to victims, and lend a voice to the voiceless,” he said. “This is a noble calling. It is a sacred trust. I’m proud of each of you who has heard this calling and shouldered this responsibility.”