Washington, DC – Attorney General Karl A. Racine today thanked Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton for introducing the District of Columbia Local Prosecutor Establishment Act of 2015 – versions of which she has introduced in previous sessions of Congress. The legislation would establish a local prosecutor’s office, designated under local law to prosecute all local crimes in the District. All adult felonies and most adult misdemeanor offenses are currently handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District.
 
“I want to thank Congresswoman Norton for reintroducing legislation that would give the District’s 660,000 residents a further measure of self-governance we currently lack,” Attorney General Racine said. “Prosecutors from the Office of the Attorney General stand ready to prosecute adult offenses in the District of Columbia.”

The Congresswoman’s bill would implement the desires expressed by District voters in a 2002 advisory referendum to create a local prosecutor’s office. Of those who cast ballots, 82 percent supported the referendum.