Linda Kelly
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Linda L. Kelly was an attorney general of Pennsylvania. She was nominated in February 2011 by Governor Tom Corbett, who himself vacated the office upon his election. On May 23, 2011, the Pennsylvania State Senate unanimously confirmed her. She was the seventh attorney general of Pennsylvania to hold the office since it became an elected position in 1980.
Kelly did not run for election in 2012. She was succeeded by Kathleen Kane (D), who won election on November 6, 2012.
Biography
Kelly graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and the Duquesne University School of Law. She began her legal career in the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office in 1975. From that post, she was recruited by the U.S. Attorney's Office. All told, Kelly spent 30 years as a federal prosecutor and senior litigation counsel with the U.S. Attorney's Western Pennsylvania Office in Pittsburgh. During that time, she twice served as acting U.S. attorney, in 1998 and again in 2001.
In 2001, she began serving as the anti-terrorism coordinator for the U.S. attorney, acting both as senior litigation counsel and the office's anti-terrorism liaison.[1]
Education
- BA, University of Pittsburgh
- J.D., Duquesne University School of Law
Political career
Attorney General of Pennsylvania (2011-2013)
In February 2011, newly elected Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Corbett nominated Linda Kelly to complete his unexpired term as attorney general. She was confirmed by the state Senate in March of that year and took the oath of office on May 27. Kelly became the second woman to serve as attorney general of Pennsylvania and the first woman to hold the office since it became an independent elected office in 1981.[2]
Kelly did not file for the attorney general race in 2012, following the common practice whereby state-row appointees acting in an elected official's stead forgo seeking a subsequent full term. She said, “It’s been sort of a liberating experience to be here and not have to deal with the politics of the office.”[3]
Sandusky trial
Kelly led the attorney general's office in prosecuting former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky on 48 counts of sex abuse. The case originated under predecessor Tom Corbett in 2009. Charges were brought against Sandusky in November 2011. At that point, the case went from grand jury presentment to trial in seven months. On June 22, 2012, a jury convicted Sandusky of 25 felonies and 20 misdemeanors.[4]
Kelly assured the press after the verdict was delivered that she was confident Sandusky received a fair trial. "The commonwealth expects to prevail on any appeal, and as far as the timing, the judge made it clear from the beginning to all the parties that he intended to move this case along quickly," Kelly said on CNN.[4]
Defense Attorney Joe Amendola tried to withdraw from the case on account of the trial's expeditious time frame. Echoing Kelly's defense of the trial's speedy conclusion, Corbett weighed in, saying, that he expected the issue to reappear in future appeals, but ultimately, the jury's decision was tipped by the "compelling testimony of these now young men who were young boys who suffered at the hands of this pedophile.”[5]
Elections
2012
Kelly did not seek election to a full four-year term in 2012.[1] Kathleen Kane (D) won election on November 6, 2012.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Linda and her husband, Paul, live in Edgewater. Their only child, Kate, finished her own law degree at the University of Pittsburgh in 2011.
Contact
Office Contact
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
16th Floor, Strawberry Square
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Tel: 717-787-3391
Fax: 717-787-8242
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 PittsburghLive.com, "State's new attorney general will complete corruption cases," August 15, 2011
- ↑ Attorney General of Pennsylvania Linda Kelly, "History of the Office of Attorney General," accessed April 2, 2012
- ↑ The Patriot News, "Should the next Pennsylvania attorney general be barred from seeking higher office while serving?" March 29, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Reuters, "Pennsylvania attorney general says Sandusky got fair trial," June 25, 2012
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Defense lawyer: Ex-Penn St. assistant Sandusky wants ‘people to know that he’s not guilty’," June 25, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tom Corbett (R) |
Attorney General of Pennsylvania 2011 - 2013 |
Succeeded by Kathleen Kane (D) |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
