Biography

“top-flight prosecutor” – San Francisco Chronicle

“a longtime champion for juvenile rights” – San Francisco Examiner

Kamala D. Harris, 38, is a veteran prosecutor who has dedicated her outstanding legal talents to prosecuting violent crime, combating the sexual exploitation of children and working creatively to improve the quality of life in our communities.

A former Deputy District Attorney in San Francisco and Alameda County, Kamala has thirteen years of courtroom experience. She currently serves as a San Francisco Deputy City Attorney, where she is Chief of the Community and Neighborhood Division.

Kamala was born in Oakland and raised in Berkeley. Her parents, both professors, were active in the Civil Rights Movement and instilled in Kamala a strong commitment to justice and public service. That commitment led Kamala to Howard University, America’s oldest black university, and then to Hastings College of the Law. She graduated in 1990.

As Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County from 1990 to 1998, Kamala prosecuted hundreds of serious and violent felonies, including homicide, rape and child sexual assault cases. Before Louise Renne recruited her to join the City Attorney’s office in August, 2000, Kamala was the Managing Attorney of the Career Criminal Unit of the San Francisco District Attorney’s office.

Throughout her career, Kamala has made youth and children a priority. She was one of the few prosecutors in California to stand up against Proposition 21, which has forced more young people unnecessarily into prison. Currently, she is spearheading a public-private task force that is pushing San Francisco to confront the growing problem of teen-age prostitution.

Among her many community activities, Kamala is Co-Chair of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights; President of the Board of Directors of Partners Ending Domestic Abuse; elected member of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Bar Association; and founder of an SF Museum of Modern Art mentoring program which has served hundreds of young people from the inner city.

Kamala has been recognized many times for the excellence of her work. For her work on behalf of youth, Kamala received an award from Crime Victims United. In 1998, she was named by the Daily Journal as one of the top 20 young lawyers in the State of California. Most recently, she earned an award from the County Counsel Association of California for her work granting gay couples equal rights in child adoption cases.