Doing justice to D.A. race

They’re running for the same office, but their styles couldn’t be more different.

Confident and resolute, Seth Williams told residents gathered April 26 at Hawthorne Cultural Arts Center, 1200 Carpenter St., why he believes he should be the city’s next district attorney.

Poised and low-key, Lynne Abraham – the woman who now holds the job – handed out gun locks and touted her office’s crime-prevention and victim-services programs.

The Democratic candidates spoke at the center on the same night in advance of the May 17 primary, but never crossed paths. Scheduled for separate appearances, Williams left the building before Abraham pulled up.

The opponents were once on the same side: Williams, 38, worked under Abraham as an assistant district attorney from 1992-2003. Now he is challenging his former boss’ programs and contending that Abraham, 64, has not been tough enough on crime during her 14 years as district attorney.

Williams’ slogan, "A new day, a new D.A.," reflects his platform of change. At last week’s forum, the opponent contended that dozens of criminal cases are dismissed every day because Abraham’s office is disorganized and assistant district attorneys are not prepared for trial.

"The criminal-justice system in Philadelphia is broken. Fifty-five percent of the felony cases – where police risk their lives to apprehend – have the cases thrown out because the district attorney’s office wasn’t ready. If that’s acceptable to you, I say vote for the incumbent," Williams said.

Abraham, who never mentioned her opponent by name, vehemently denied any responsibility for cases that fail to go to trial.

"Cases are being dismissed but that’s not the reason – it is not true that the D.A.s are not ready," she said.

Judges dismiss cases for myriad reasons such as a lack of sufficient evidence or a witness who changes his mind, said Abraham, who added that more than 75 percent of cases are held over for trial.

With a hearty laugh, the district attorney shrugged off Williams’ insistence that she is lax on prosecutions.

She said her Narcotics Strike Force has locked up thousands of drug dealers and taken millions of dollars worth of drugs off the streets.

The task force has been active locally, rounding up 14 suspected buyers and dealers in a Point Breeze drug raid last month, police said.

OTHER PROGRAMS, SUCH as the Public Nuisance Task Force, have had a direct impact on communities, Abraham said. That initiative has closed more than 2,000 crack houses and nuisance bars, she added.

Along with the Repeat Offenders Unit, the Youth Violence Reduction Project and the Family Violence Sexual Assault Unit, Abraham’s programs fall under the Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia, a 10-point effort that she worked on with law enforcement and legislators.

"There isn’t anybody who is tougher on crime than I am," she said. "You look at every crime bill that has passed and my handprint is on it."

Abraham also takes credit for transferring many gun and narcotics cases from local to federal court so offenders get stiffer sentences.

But Williams said he sees a need to aggressively pursue illegal gun dealers, and pledged that would be one of his first tasks if elected.

The gun issue has added resonance this year, as bursts of violent activity – including in South Philly – have driven up the city’s homicide rate.

As of April 23, there were 106 homicides committed in Philadelphia; 85 percent were committed by handguns, police records show. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Philadelphia leads the nation in the number of homicides caused by handguns.

Last month in South Philly, police recorded at least 20 shootings, including seven homicides. Three of those deaths occurred in a five-day period, from April 22-26.

"Gun violence in this city is unacceptable. In order to stop the gun violence, you must prosecute those who are selling guns in the city," said Williams, who now works in private practice.

The challenger pointed out that Abraham has dedicated seven prosecutors to her welfare-fraud unit and 18 attorneys to her insurance-fraud unit. With homicides and gun violence so high, Williams questioned the incumbent’s priorities.

"Now I ask you, are you scared of a welfare mom? Are you afraid of an insurance cheat? Or are you afraid of somebody coming up your block and using a gun? It’s a pretty easy question," he said.

Abraham maintained that one way she goes after gun dealers by working closely with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to identify who is moving weapons.

TOUTING COMMUNITY-BASED prosecution, Williams pointed to such successful strategies in Brooklyn, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Since Philadelphia is a town defined by its neighborhoods, Williams believes his solution would be effective.

"The police are assigned geographically. The probation department is assigned geographically, council people. Even the trash department is assigned geographically. Everything in Philadelphia is assigned geographically but the district attorney’s office," said Williams.

He would like to see prosecutors assigned to each police district so they can get to know a neighborhood and its crime patterns.

Abraham said that the plan could never work logistically. With 23 police districts, each with three shifts, Williams’ strategy would require 69 prosecutors a day at each district, she said.

The district attorney instead suggested "zone courts" to streamline the system. Zone courts would assign police officers to cases handled by the same judge, thus reducing the chances of a case being thrown out because an officer was in another courtroom for a different case.

"That is the more intelligent way of doing things because it doesn’t have 60 or 70 D.A.s hanging around a police station waiting for something to happen when they can’t go in and prosecute the case because they are busy in the police station. That’s effective, that’s efficient," said Abraham.

In the coming weeks, the state Supreme Court will meet with Abraham to consider reconfiguring the courts.

"The Supreme Court is the only one with the power to change the court system. Not I, not any D.A.," she said.

Candidates at a glance

Lynne Abraham

Background: Grew up in West Oak Lane. Lives in Center City with husband of 29 years, former radio personality Frank Ford. No children, but four "lovable cats."

Education: Undergraduate and law school, Temple University

Experience: District attorney, 1991-present; Common Pleas Court judge, 1980-91; Municipal Court judge, 1976-80, assistant counsel to City Council, 1974-76; executive director of Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, 1972-73; assistant district attorney, 1967-72 and 1973-74<

Seth Williams

Background: Grew up in Cobbs Creek section of West Philly. Lives in Overbrook with wife Sonita and daughters Alyssia, 17; Hope Olivia, 16; and Taylor, 5.

Education: Bachelor’s degree from Penn State University, 1989; Georgetown University Law Center, 1992

Experience: Assistant district attorney, 1992-2003; associate trial lawyer at Zarwin, Baum, DeVito, Kaplan, Schaer & Toddy, 2003 to present