What are the responsibilities and job description for the Assistant District Attorney - Special Investigations Unit- Lateral position at Philadelphia District Attorney's Office?
Position: Assistant District Attorney
Unit: Special Investigation Unit
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) investigates and prosecutes municipal corruption, including on- and off duty misconduct by public officials, municipal and governmental employees, and law enforcement officers. SIU also handles cases on an as-needed basis that require the resources of an investigative unit, such as building collapses, and is home to the Election Fraud Task Force, which responds to allegations of criminal misconduct in primary and general elections each year. SIU works closely with units across the office. SIU also handles, in conjunction with the Officer Involved Shooting Investigation Unit (OISI) of the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD), all law enforcement discharges of firearms, from accidental discharges at home, to line-of-duty shootings, as well as all in-custody civilian deaths.
Job Duties:
- Receiving complaints of corruption from the public through various media (phone/mail/digital) and doing basic corroboration/fact checking, as well as reviewing misconduct referrals from the Trial Division at the DAO and defense counsel
- Investigating these complaints in collaboration with SIU County Detectives and, when warranted, commencing prosecution
- Reviewing complex investigations for adoption by SIU
- Investigating, in collaboration with the OISI unit of PPD, all law enforcement discharges and in-custody deaths in Philadelphia
- Being on-call to respond to the scene of any fatal police-involved shootings
- Being on-call to respond to warrant and charging requests from Internal Affairs and OISI
- Reviewing investigations submitted to the DAO by outside agencies (Internal Affairs Division of PPD, SEPTA, Office of the Inspector General, etc.) for probable cause determinations, and then, if arrest is warranted, prosecuting the case from charging to final disposition
- Reviewing cases for possible diversion with an eye and understanding towards the specific collateral consequences of SIU’s typical offenders (i.e. pension forfeiture, safety considerations of housing a local law enforcement officer in custody, etc.)
- Reviewing cases with an eye and understanding towards specific hurdles faced by many of SIU’s complainants (i.e. 5th Amendment issues, distrust of law enforcement, retaliation)
- Conducting examinations and investigations through the Investigating Grand Jury
Qualifications:
- All candidates must be admitted to practice law in the State of Pennsylvania.
- Candidates must have 5 or more years of legal experience following graduation from an accredited law school.
- A commitment to anti-corruption work is a must.
- Candidates must be highly motivated researchers, comfortable with document-driven cases that can take months or years to build.
- Candidates should have courtroom experience in trials or other evidentiary proceedings involving serious felonies; experience handling domestic violence and sexual assault cases as a lawyer or in an advocacy setting is a plus.
- Candidate must be able to manage a trial caseload
- Candidate must be able to take initiative and be self-directed on non-deadline oriented investigations.
- Ability to work directly with County Detectives and other ADAs to build a case is required.
- Candidates must be willing to be on-call 1 week out of every 6.
