PDAA Announces New Executive Committee Leadership Appointments

Harrisburg, PA –The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association (PDAA) announced today that Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo was elected to chair its legislative committee and Armstrong County District Attorney Katie Charlton was elected to serve on its executive committee. The nominations were approved unanimously.

“The Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association has earned a well-deserved reputation for promoting fairness and integrity in the criminal justice system,” said PDAA President and Snyder County District Attorney Michael Piecuch. “Both of these prosecutors add experience and the common desire to work tirelessly in the effort to ensure the system works for everyone.”

As legislative chair, Chardo will lead PDAA’s review of pending legislation and serve as a voice for the association in the halls of government.

“District Attorney Chardo has a proven record of working well with other elected leaders and we are confident he will represent the interests of justice with the kind of enthusiasm and candor today’s legislative environment demands,” Piecuch said.

Fran Chardo is District Attorney of Dauphin County. He was appointed to the position in January 2018 and was subsequently elected in November 2019. He has served as a prosecutor for 26 years. Currently he is a member of the board of trustees of Dauphin County Library System. Chardo is also chair of PDAA’s Best Practices Committee and previously served as a board member for the association’s training and education arm, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute (PDAI).

As a member of the executive committee, Charlton will help lead the business of the association as it works to accomplish its goal to help district attorneys discharge their duties in the various counties of the commonwealth. This includes promoting cooperation, coordination and an exchange of information among member prosecutors.

We are pleased District Attorney Charlton has accepted this position,” said Piecuch. “She has valuable insight and input to share with our executive committee.”

Charlton was the first female district attorney elected to Armstrong County in 2017. Prior to that, she was in private practice, including serving as managing partner in a firm she shared with her husband, Joseph Charlton. In 2011 she was named assistant district attorney to Armstrong County. Duquesne University School of Law named her Woman of the Year for 2018. She is also a board member for the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute, the education and training arm of PDAA.

Throughout its history, PDAA has been a leader in matters of public safety. Most recently, the Association supported legislation signed into law to require more extensive background checks before police are hired and improve police training.  PDAA has helped to enact laws to better enable vulnerable victims to testify against their abusers, to hold domestic abusers accountable by making strangulation a stand-alone crime, to protect against online exploitation by creating the crime of sexual extortion, and to help those with criminal records obtain employment with a clean slate law, which seals certain non-violent criminal records. For more information about PDAA click here.

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August 19, 2020

Contact: Lindsay Vaughan, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association lvaughan@pdaa.org or (717) 238-5416.