About Fran Chardo

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

 

  • District Attorney of Dauphin County (2018 to Present)
    • Serve as chief law enforcement officer for Dauphin County, overseeing an office with 31 prosecutors, 12 detectives, and numerous other staff, including co-responders embedded with the municipal police departments.  The office conducts over 6000 felony and misdemeanor prosecutions at the Court of Common Pleas level each year.
  • First Assistant District Attorney, Dauphin County (2003-2017)
    • Responsible for the prosecution of jury and non-jury trials, including over 135 jury trials. Supervised deputy district attorneys, reviewing proposed plea agreements and evaluating the performance of the attorneys. Appellate practice included writing briefs and argument before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Superior Court and filing briefs in the Supreme Court of the United States.
  • Chief Deputy District Attorney, Dauphin County (2000-2003)
  • Senior Deputy District Attorney, Dauphin County (1996-2000)
  • Deputy District Attorney, Dauphin County (1994-1996)
  • Special Assistant District Attorney, York County (2002)
    • Appointed as special prosecutor in connection with the trial resulting from the 1969 race riot murder of Lillie Belle Allen.
  • Special Assistant District Attorney, Montgomery County (2003)
    • Appointed as special prosecutor in major drug investigation.
  • Adjunct Professor, Widener University School of Law (2005, 2013-present)
    • Teach criminal law and advanced criminal procedure to law students
  • Instructor, Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law (2004-present)
    • Serve as an instructor for law students in trial advocacy
  • Faculty Member, National College of District Attorneys, Columbia, South Carolina (2004-2011)
    • served as trial advocacy instructor for prosecutors
  • Instructor, Public Safety Institute, Harrisburg Area Community College (1995-2004)
    • Instructed police academy cadets on criminal law and procedure

EDUCATION:

  • J.D., Widener University School of Law, Wilmington, Delaware (1993)
  • B.A, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (1990)
    • Major course of studies in history and political science

BAR ADMISSIONS:

  • Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (1993)
  • United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (1995)
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1996)
  • Supreme Court of the United States (1997)

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:

  • Board Certified in Criminal Trial Advocacy, National Board of Trial Advocacy
  • Master and Former President of the Honorable William W. Lipsitt Chapter of the American Inns of Court
  • Member, National District Attorneys Association
  • Member, Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, currently serving as Vice-President
  • Member, Education and Training Committee of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Instituted
  • Chair, Best Practices Committee, Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association
  • Chair, Court Relations Committee, Dauphin County Bar Association

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:

  • Member of the Board of Trustees, Dauphin County Library System
  • Past President, American Cancer Society Board of Directors, Capital Area Unit
  • Past President, Boys and Girls Club of Central Pennsylvania Board of Directors
  • Member, Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Human Trafficking, 2010 to 2012
  • Member, Pennsylvania Citizen Law Enforcement Advisory and Review (CLEAR) Commission, 2023 to present

PERSONAL:

  • Married to Christine M. Chardo
  • Two Daughters, Catherine Grace Chardo and Sophie Bridget Chardo
  • Member of St. Joan of Arc Parish, Hershey