BOSTON, Jan. 2, 2019—District Attorney Rachael Rollins was sworn in today as Suffolk County’s 16th district attorney, the first woman elected to that position, and the first woman of color to serve as a district attorney anywhere in Massachusetts.

Rollins was administered the oath of office by Geraldine Hines, a former associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court and the first woman of color to serve on that high court. She in turn swore in about 150 Suffolk County prosecutors whom she oversees as the chief law enforcement officer for Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Massachusetts.

The standing room only ceremony was held at Roxbury Community College and featured elected officials, faith leaders, current and former members of the Massachusetts bench, law enforcement officials from across the region, community members from all walks of life, and members of Rollins’ family.

An attorney for 20 years with degrees from the Northeastern University School of Law and the Georgetown University Law Center, Rollins had previously served as a field attorney at the National Labor Relations Board in Boston and as an attorney with the law firm of Bingham McCutchen including a rotation through the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office. She handled civil and criminal matters as a federal prosecutor with the United States Attorney’s office in Boston for four years before serving as general counsel for both MassDOT and the MBTA, and went on to become the chief legal counsel for the Massachusetts Port Authority.

A cancer survivor, a mother, and an aunt with custody of two nieces, Rollins was elected to her current position at the age of 47 with a mandate to change, reform, and improve the criminal justice system. She pledged to use that platform locally and nationally with the support and assistance of her prosecution staff and professionals from many other fields of expertise as well.

“We have a big job ahead of us – changing perceptions and expectations of how the criminal justice system can best serve the community, and how necessary other disciplines are to our shared success,” she said. “Professionals in education, medical and mental health, social services, housing, and many other fields all play a part in public safety and we need their collaboration as surely as we need police and prosecutors. Positive change is in the air, and I’m looking forward to achieving it together with the people of Suffolk County.”

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.