Senate Confirms Rachael Rollins as First Black US Attorney of Mass.

Politics

By Kelton Brooks Published: December 9, 2021

Senate Confirms Rachael Rollins as First Black US Attorney of Mass.

FILE — In this June 26, 2018, file photo, then-Suffolk County District Attorney Democratic candidate Rachael Rollins addresses an audience in Boston. Rollins, who has led the Suffolk County district attorneys office since 2019 as the first woman of color to serve as a district attorney in Massachusetts, is being nominated by President Joe Biden to become the state's top federal prosecutor. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Rollins would become the first Black woman to serve as U.S. attorney for Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

In Summary

Rollins was elected as the District Attorney in Suffolk County in 2018 and nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as Massachusetts’ U.S. attorney in July 2021.

Rachael Rollins, a catalyst in reforming the criminal justice system internally, has become the first Black woman to serve as Massachusetts’ U.S. attorney.

A Rollins Suffolk County District Attorney who’s made headlines at home and across the nation for her commitment to reforming the criminal justice system from within, Rollins will become the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts after winning approval from a divided U.S. Senate.

Rollins was elected as the District Attorney in Suffolk County in 2018. Prior to this, she served in legal positions at the Massachusetts Port Authority, Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

She was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as Massachusetts’ U.S. attorney in July 2021.

“I’m deeply honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve my community, my Commonwealth and my country as the next United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts,” District Attorney Rollins said. “Every policy and initiative that I have put in place as Suffolk County District Attorney has been designed to improve the safety and wellbeing of the communities I serve, to improve the public’s trust in law enforcement and our courts and to improve the fairness and equity of the criminal legal system.”

In her race for the district attorney, Rollins defeated an independent, Michal Maloney, while running on a platform that aimed to reduce mass incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

According to the official statement of Rollins as the US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, she said she has also worked to improve the delivery of services to victims, survivors, and communities impacted by crime.

“I’m incredibly proud of the work every member of my office has done to achieve these goals, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to lead an office of such dedicated, compassionate and talented professionals,” Rollins continued. “I look forward to bringing these data-driven, evidenced-based approaches and a heightened emphasis on culturally competent, trauma-informed victim services to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.”