Veteran Prosecutor Danette Meyers Launches Campaign to Become the First African American District Attorney of Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 31, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Deputy District Attorney Danette Meyers today announced her candidacy for Los Angeles County District Attorney.  If elected, she will be the first female and first African American District Attorney of Los Angeles County.

Ms. Meyers has been a Deputy District Attorney for over 24 years and has been a resident of Los Angeles for over 50 years.  To date she has tried close to 200 jury trials and over 40 murders.  She has been a prosecutor in several specialized units including the Career Criminal Unit, the Special Trials Division of the Van Nuys Branch Office and the elite Crimes Against Peace Officers Unit where she prosecuted the most serious crimes committed against members of law enforcement.

Danette Meyers was named Prosecutor of the Year by both the Criminal Justice Section of the LA County Bar Association and the Century City Bar Association.  The Daily Journal, the top legal newspaper in California, named her one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California.  She also received an award from the Los Angeles Police Department for her service on the Webster Commission following the civil unrest after the arrest of Rodney King.

Ms. Meyers was the first female African American President of the LA County Bar Association with a membership of over 26,000 and a budget of several million dollars. She has served on the California State Bar Complaints, Audit and Review Board which evaluated complaints against lawyers, the Board of Directors for the Association of Deputy District Attorneys, and the LA County Bar Association's Delegation to the State Bar Annual Meeting.

Ms. Meyers has prosecuted numerous high profile cases which have received national and international attention. She also obtained one of the first convictions of a serial rapist utilizing DNA evidence.

Ms. Meyers continued to prosecute crimes even as an administrative staff member of the DA's Office. While Deputy-in-Charge of two Area Offices she convicted Bernard Nelson of first degree murder and the attempted murder of two LAPD Officers and Jaime Mares for the double murder of Officer Brian Brown and 17-year-old Geraldo Sernas.  The next year she convicted the killers of LA Unified School Teacher Kathryn Dawson.  

Most recently, she successfully prosecuted Ricky Rene Madison for the torture killing of his girlfriend and James Matthew Heard for the torture and sexual assault murder of an 11-year-old.

As District Attorney, Danette Meyers intends to use her unprecedented courtroom experience to implement major reforms to the juvenile justice system and develop more effective community outreach projects aimed at reducing violent crimes and drug related offenses. Ms. Meyers intends to work in partnership with law enforcement, the judiciary and the legislature to increase public safety throughout Los Angeles County while ensuring fair and equal justice for all.

SOURCE Danette Meyers Campaign Headquarters