Sherry Boston
District Attorney - DeKalb County, GA
Sherry Boston stands among the elite in the world of prosecution as one of the rare one percent of African American females currently serving as District Attorney nationwide.
Ms. Boston was first elected as District Attorney for the Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit in 2016. In her capacity, DA Boston oversees the prosecution of felony offenses filed in the Superior Court of DeKalb County and supervises a staff of more than 300 people including attorneys, investigators, paralegals, victim-witness advocates, and administrative professionals.
Since taking the helm as District Attorney in January 2017, Ms. Boston has assembled a diverse and highly experienced leadership team. She recognizes the critical role her office plays in the criminal justice system and was the first district attorney in Georgia to mandate Implicit Bias training for all employees.
DA Boston has also prioritized addressing gun violence by establishing a Firearm Violence Prevention Unit, which includes an attorney, an investigator, a victim advocate, and a social worker. The team works collaboratively with other units in the office to reduce the proliferation of gun violence in the DeKalb community.
Observers have taken notice of DA Boston’s efforts. Atlanta Magazine has repeatedly lauded her as one of metro Atlanta’s 500 Most Influential People, featuring her on the coveted front cover of the publication in 2019. Through her work with the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution, DA Boston has also become an integral part of the national dialogue on criminal justice reform and innovative prosecution strategies specific to juvenile justice, reentry, and accountability initiatives. DA Boston served as one of the original appointees to the GRACE Commission, a statewide task force created in 2019 by Georgia’s First Lady to combat human trafficking.
Prior to her role as District Attorney, Ms. Boston served as DeKalb County Solicitor-General, the elected prosecutor overseeing misdemeanor crimes.
In addition to her elected positions, DA Boston has received numerous legal appointments and wide recognition for her innovative prevention/intervention initiatives and impassioned commitment to domestic violence awareness. In 2018, she received the Champion for Change Award from the Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence for her leadership in the DV arena, including the development of two signature community awareness campaigns.
In December 2023, the Georgia Association of Black County Officials named DA Boston co-District Attorney of the Year. She was also honored last year with Emerge Georgia’s Community Champion Award.
In 2022, the National Black Prosecutors Association (NBPA) honored DA Boston with the President’s Award of Excellence, which is presented each year to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in service and commitment to furthering the overall goals and objectives of the NBPA; advancement in education, recruitment, retention and promotion of African American prosecutors; perpetuating the history of the profession and the memory of its members.
Among her varied involvement in community and legal organizations, District Attorney Boston is an active member of the State Bar of Georgia where she serves on the Board of Governors, the State Bar’s policy-making arm.
District Attorney Boston is a graduate of Villanova University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Emory University School of Law. She resides in DeKalb County with her husband and two daughters.