William D. Delahunt (MA-10) was elected to Congress in 1996, after many years in public service and law enforcement. For over two decades, Mr. Delahunt was District Attorney of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, establishing a series of innovative programs of national significance, including the first prosecutorial domestic violence unit in the United States. He previously served as Assistant Majority Leader of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he sponsored the first civil rights act in the Commonwealth.

As a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the Committee on International Relations, Congressman Delahunt has worked to further human rights and the rule of law, both at home and abroad. As a member of the Subcommittee on Crime, he has become identified with a series of measures aimed at curbing prosecutorial abuse and bringing greater fairness and accountability to the criminal justice system. He is the author, with Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy and Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood, of the Innocence Protection Act, a bipartisan measure intended to ensure that persons facing the death penalty have access to DNA testing and competent legal counsel. He will shortly introduce legislation to strengthen due process protections in federal grand jury proceedings.

Last updated April 16, 2002