HARRISBURG >> Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman has been elected president of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association.
The announcement was made a in a press release issued Tuesday by the PDAA.
Ferman was elected during the association’s annual business meeting, along with vice president David Arnold, the district attorney of Lebanon County; and secretary-treasurer Seth Williams, the district attorney of Philadelphia.
“As a prosecutor for over two decades, I have dedicated my career to ensuring the fairness and integrity of the criminal justice system, to developing and implementing the best investigative and prosecutorial practices, and to the protection of all crime victims,” Ferman said in the press release. “I am honored that my colleagues chose me to serve in this important leadership role of our association.
“My fellow district attorneys and I believe in the criminal justice system and the ethical standards our oath demands. I look forward to working with my colleagues on legislative and law enforcement issues in order to ensure that our system ? and all those it is meant to protect ? is the best it can be and reflects the times we live in.”
Ferman worked for 15 years in the courtroom as a prosecutor, serving as captain of the Sex Crimes Team and specializing in homicide, child abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence cases, the release said.
She was elected as Montgomery County’s first female district attorney in 2007 and was re-elected to a second term in 2011.
According to the release, Ferman is credited with the establishment of the Elder Abuse Unit, targeting criminals who prey upon senior citizens and co-founded two nonprofits dedicated to child abuse victims: Mission Kids, a child advocacy center designed to ease the criminal justice process for victims of child abuse, and the Montgomery County Child Advocacy Project (MCAP), which provides pro bono legal services to abused and neglected children.
In 2011, she wrote a children’s book called “The Mouse Who Went Surfing Alone,” to introduce concepts of internet safety to young children.
Ferman will serve a truncated term as PDAA president because she is leaving the DA’s office at the end of the current term and is running for a seat on the bench of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.
With approximately 1,000 members, the PDAA provides “uniformity and efficiency in the discharge of duties and functions of Pennsylvania’s 67 district attorneys and their assistants,” according to the press release.
