The first Milwaukee County District Attorney was Charles James, who served a two-year term beginning in 1848.
In the first decade of the 1900s, district attorney Francis E. McGovern and his office investigated and prosecuted corrupt city officials.
The administration of Mayor David Rose was notorious for this, often ignoring illegal activity.
[1] Rose, although termed by McGovern "the self-elected, self-appointed attorney general" of local crime, was not indicted but was defeated in the 1910 mayoral election by Socialist Emil Seidel.
The district attorney's office is responsible for prosecuting state-level criminal offenses committed in Milwaukee County.