Lynne Abraham
| Lynne Abraham | |
|---|---|
Lynne Abraham
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| 23rd District Attorney of Philadelphia | |
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In office May 15, 1991 – January 4, 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Ronald D. Castille |
| Succeeded by | R. Seth Williams |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 31, 1941 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Frank Ford (deceased) |
| Residence | Philadelphia |
Lynne Marsha Abraham (born January 31, 1941) was an American attorney who served as the District Attorney of the City of Philadelphia from May 1991 to January 2010. She was the first woman to serve as Philadelphia's district attorney. Abraham won election to that position four times. As district attorney, she oversaw the largest such office in Pennsylvania. The office prosecutes approximately 75,000 cases every year and is the largest appellate litigator in the Commonwealth. Abraham oversaw a professional staff of 300 assistant district attorneys and 275 support staff. She ran for Mayor of Philadelphia in the 2015 election. She is also listed as one of the United States deadliest prosecutors, and was known for seeking and obtaining the death penalty frequently.
Lynne Abraham was born in 1941 and raised in Philadelphia and educated in its public schools. The daughter of first-generation Americans, she grew up on the margins of poverty. Her grandparents were immigrants — a tailor and a butcher — from Europe. She studied at Temple University for her undergraduate degree and also received her Juris Doctor from Temple University Beasley School of Law. She was married to Frank Ford until his death in March 2009.
Abraham is a former assistant district attorney. She served as a legislative consultant for the city council of Philadelphia, where she assisted council in conducting investigations, drafted legislation, testified at public hearings, met with citizens' groups and revised portions of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter. She served as the head of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority during the administration of Mayor Frank Rizzo. She was elected Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court in 1977, then was elected to the Court of Common Pleas in 1980, where she presided over criminal trials until she became district attorney in 1991.
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