The Orange County District Attorney’s Office represents the People of the State of New York, and has the authority to investigate and prosecute all offenses in Orange County. In most traffic infraction cases, and all violations of municipal ordinances, the District Attorney defers prosecution authority to municipal attorneys and police officers.
The District Attorney is elected by the residents of his or her county, to represent the state in proceedings against those accused of offenses. David M. Hoovler is the Orange County District Attorney. The approximately 45 attorneys who work in his office are called Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs).
The District Attorney’s Office has two ADAs on-call 24 hours a day, year-round. When the District Attorney’s Office is closed, those on-call ADAs are available to respond to the scene of major crimes, to answer inquiries from police agencies, and to make recommendations regarding the amount of bail to be set in a particular case. In addition, a district attorney’s investigator is on-call at all times, to assist the on-call ADAs and police agencies, as necessary.