Philly's elected prosecutor sues to stop law designed to limit authority on transit system crimes

Philadelphia’s two-term elected progressive district attorney is suing to halt the appointment of a new special prosecutor for crimes that occur on the city’s trains

Philadelphia’s two-term elected district attorney said Thursday he wants a court to stop plans to appoint a special prosecutor who would handle crimes on the city’s trains under a new law designed to dilute his authority that he argues is unconstitutional.

It’s not the first time progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner has taken lawmakers to court over what he argues is an overstepping of their authority to punish him over political differences.

“When I made the unexpected decision to run for DA in 2017, I thought that meant district attorney,” Krasner said at a news conference about the litigation. “I didn’t know the DA actually stood for democracy advocate.”

The lawsuit seeking the block the law's implementation alleges the special prosecutor would take 89% of the land area from the city out of the district attorney’s jurisdiction.

Krasner’s attorney, John Summers, said they were filing the complaint, which was not immediately available, on Thursday. Summers said the law discriminates against Philadelphia and its voters compared with other counties served by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and that the state constitution doesn’t allow special counsel to “divest and nullify” Krasner’s authority, among other things.

He called the measure a “constitutional trainwreck.”

“It is a tangle that cannot and should not be enforced, and that’s why the district attorney has filed an action seeking a court declaration and injunction to prevent it,” Summers said.

Senate Republican Leader Joe Pittman of Indiana County said in a statement the law garnered bipartisan support and was signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat.

“It is time DA Krasner stops playing political games and starts working with Republicans and Democrats alike” to ensure the safety of Philadelphians, Pittman said.

The law creating the new special prosecutor role was signed last month by Shapiro. Though it was a Republican-led effort to take away power from a district attorney that many GOP lawmakers believe had not adequately prosecuted crime, a number of Democrats also voted for it.

The measure created a new special prosecutor with the authority to investigate and prosecute crimes that occur on the city’s public transit system, commonly known as SEPTA.

The bill's sponsor Sen. Wayne Langerholc, a Republican from Cambria County, said previously it would not take power from Krasner, but such a move was necessary because high-profile violent crimes, like gun crimes, weren’t adequately prosecuted. A message seeking comment about the Thursday's filing was left with Langerholc.

At the news conference, Krasner dismissed that criticism, saying his office has prosecuted 92% of crimes SEPTA has sent his office. He warned that if the court agrees with him, any cases pursued by the special prosecutor could be overturned.

The attorney general's office was directed to appoint the new special prosecutor, someone who can’t have worked for that office or Krasner during the past six years, within 30 days. That deadline is approaching.

Krasner was impeached by Republican members of the House in November 2022, but a state Senate trial has been stalled after Krasner sued to stop it. His case is now before the state Supreme Court.

He has dismissed lawmakers’ criticism as differences in politics. Krasner’s election to office in 2017 came in a wave of progressive victories, campaigning on policies that include diversion to mental health treatment or drug abuse treatment for low-level crimes, holding police more accountable, and proactive efforts to free inmates who were wrongfully convicted.

But progressive prosecutors have met backlash and scrutiny from conservative lawmakers. In San Francisco, Chesa Boudin was recalled by voters, while St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner resigned following a turbulent tenure that included criticism of her policies by Republican lawmakers in Missouri.

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Brooke Schultz is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.