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DIVISIONS & BUREAUS

An overview of the functions and responsibilities of each
component of our office.

Appeals & Training Bureau

In addition to managing the typical appeals processes, ATB prosecutors adeptly handle applications regarding conviction expungement, release from custody, stay of proceedings, actual innocence claims, and sex offender registration, to name a few.

Also
  • That reactive caseload does not include the proactive “People’s appeals” that often need to be taken against adverse judgments believed to be erroneous.
  • ATB’s Psychiatric Litigation Unit also assists all bureaus when a defendant’s mental condition (whether at the time of the incident or trial) is an issue and handles any civil commitments for those who may not be guilty because of a mental disease or defect.
  • Finally, staff training and guidance never truly ends - ATB conducts regular training for our prosecutors throughout the office and is routinely consulted by all bureaus on thorny legal issues.

The expression “crime doesn’t pay” is only true if we work to make it true. 

Our asset forfeiture team works to
  • Seize, through civil processes and judgments, all illegal proceeds of crimes and all assets of criminal enterprises.
  • Turn these assets against criminality through awareness campaigns, specialized details, buy money, and other law enforcement purposes.

CADVB investigates and prosecutes all felony cases involving the physical and sexual abuse of children under age 17, as well as all cases involving intimate partner and family violence.

The Bureau's mission also includes
  • Working with the Suffolk County Police Department's Homicide Squad in the investigation and prosecution of infant homicides.
  • Applying its expertise in the areas of child sexual abuse syndrome, battered child syndrome, shaken baby syndrome, battered women’s syndrome, and rape trauma syndrome.
This vital bureau oversees secondary reviews of criminal convictions: whether for a claim of actual innocence or a claim of wrongful conviction due to fundamental unfairness with the trial process.

The District Court Bureau covers the consolidated caseload of the 5 western town and the 15 western villages of Suffolk County. By volume, it handles the lion’s share of criminal dockets handled by the SCDA.

Most offenses covered by this bureau are:
  • Misdemeanor and quality-of-life crimes, though the bureau also staffs various specialty courts, including those involved in treating addiction and mental health-based crimes.

With two branch offices in Southold and Hampton Bays, the East End Bureau is responsible for the prosecution and disposition of all criminal and traffic cases before the ten Town and Village Justice Courts of the five easternmost townships.

This ensures that:
  • Suffolk’s Peconic Bay region gets localized attention that is highly responsive to its varied individual community needs.

Phishing attacks, identity thefts, frauds, jail bail schemes – all the random predatory behavior that makes our hardworking residents seethe.

FCB is our premiere white collar crimes shop, comprised of:
  • Specialized prosecutors, investigative auditors, accountants, and financial crime detectives.
  • This elite team ensures that the full force of law is set against criminal behavior.

The Homicide Bureau, which was re-established in 2022 by DA Tierney, is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of all manner of homicides; from intentional murder to criminally negligent homicide. A homicide ADA is on call at all times to respond to crime scenes and to provide legal advice to the investigating agency. ADAs also prepare search warrants, subpoenas, technical orders, and any other legal filing that is needed for a homicide investigation. The bureau additionally investigates all non-fatal police-involved shootings.

This bureau is most often the SCDA’s first “touch” on a criminal case, acting as a liaison bureau with the county’s 25+ law enforcement agencies to bring in cases and prepare all required filings. The bureau staffs arraignment operations, grand jury operations, and all case intake processing for the office. Bureau staff is required to work 24/7/365 in order to serve the public, law enforcement, and any legal requirements needed in the off-hours.

As the SCDA’s flagship felony prosecutions bureau, MCB is responsible for prosecuting a broad variety of crime, including sexual assaults, arsons, burglaries, grand larcenies, DWIs, robberies, and gun charges.

MCB staff also
  • Contributes to the broader office mission by taking on specialized assignments and on-call duties, such as our Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) team that reviews and forwards applications to keep weapons away from unstable individuals, our school safety task force that assists school districts with terroristic threats, and our Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) prosecution team that guides non-familial sexual assaults from case inception.
  • Regularly staffs court proceedings in Suffolk County Court.

The DA’s reformed Narcotics Bureau has been unleashed on traffickers who kill our friends and family.

Through partnerships with
  • The DA’s East End Drug Task Force and Heroin Prevention Task Force,
  • As well as the Suffolk County Police Department’s Narcotics Section, and
  • The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York,

the Narcotic’s Bureau’s mission is to break the pipeline by crippling key suppliers with impactful prosecutions.

PCB is the county’s exclusive oversight shop, responsible for criminal malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance by public officials from any layer of government.

Housed within special investigation due to the extreme amount of technical proficiency required for crash data analysis and information recovery, VCB prosecutors stand somber watch over our roadways.

  • The bureau will investigate any vehicular incident that results in death or serious physical injury.
  • Prosecutors are involved vertically from inception of each case, responding to crash scenes and securing search warrants sometimes within minutes of response.

Formed on DA Tierney’s first day in office as a comprehensive investigative and litigation solution to the epidemic of gun and gang violence in Suffolk County, VCEB uses fusion reconnaissance tactics to infiltrate and disrupt enterprise tradecraft that has too long trafficked illegal firearms and lethal substances to our communities.

  • The bureau collaborates with the DA’s Gang Violence Task Force as well as the Suffolk County Police and Sheriff Departments to make sure it can achieve root-to-leaf takedowns of organized crime.
Finance & Administration Office

With responsibility for over 500 total staff, the Finance & Administration Office manages the numerous tasks required to keep the SCDA on-mission.  

  • Manages the office's Operating and Capital Budgets, grant acquisition and reporting, payroll, and purchasing.
  • Handles HR, labor issues, and outside contracting.

Consisting of the Chief Investigator and his immediate deputies, this office is the command and control hub for all investigative operations undertaken by or with the SCDA.

Our point of contact for the various community, ethnic, religious, social, and advocacy groups and partnerships that make Suffolk a county like no other.

The District Attorney’s executive team and staff.

The SCDA employees dedicated personnel for the continual improvement of our buildings and grounds.  

The General Counsel’s Office is primarily responsible for legal compliance, document production, legislative affairs, and policy enforcement.

Ensuring that SCDA staff is well-equipped, well trained, and knowledgeable about technological threats.

Led by our Director of Communications, the PIO’s responsibility is to respond to all media inquiries and expeditiously broadcast information of public concern.

As the largest law office on Long Island, the SCDA has constant need to recruit premiere staff to its mission.  The Recruitment Office coordinates:

  • Entry-Level Legal Hiring
  • Experienced Attorney Hiring
  • Administrative Professional Recruitment and Placement
Specialized Prosecution Units
When particularized knowledge or skill in a particular area of law is required, the SCDA devotes significant training and staffing to specialized investigative or prosecution units. Unit staff is usually drawn from other office bureaus, but harmonized through an independent leadership structure to make sure that a specific problem area is getting the consistent attention and level of proficiency that it deserves. Our specialized units are:
  • Arson Investigations
  • Biological, Environmental, and Animal Safety Team (BEAST)
  • Felony DWI
  • Hate Crimes, Elder Abuse, Anti-Bias, and Human Trafficking (HEAT)
  • Psychiatric Litigation
  • Special Productions
  • Tax Crimes
The District Attorney invests heavily in multi-agency investigative task forces as the foremost way to disrupt criminal enterprise. Presently, the SCDA leads, coordinates, or substantially engages with the following law enforcement teams:
  • Fentanyl Task Force
  • East End Drug Task Force
  • Gilgo Beach Homicide Task Force (GBHTF)
  • Regional Fugitive Task Force
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William J. Lindsay County Complex
Veterans Memorial Highway, Building 77
Hauppauge, NY 11788

(631) 852-3185

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