Lisa A. Smittcamp was elected as the Fresno County District Attorney in June 2014 with the overwhelming support of local law enforcement and from the prosecutors and investigators in her office. She was sworn into office on January 5, 2015. She has been unopposed in the last two elections and is currently servicing her third 4-year term. She has been a respected fixture in the Central Valley's legal community for decades.
DA Smittcamp is the second female to be the elected District Attorney in Fresno County. Prior to becoming the District Attorney, she worked in civil practice for a year, and as a Deputy District Attorney in both Madera and Fresno counties.
DA Smittcamp has always had a reputation as a tough, fair, and well-prepared prosecutor. She gained the respect of judges, fellow prosecutors, and other lawyers at the onset of her career. DA Smittcamp is known at the Fresno County courthouse for her keen sense of justice and outstanding advocacy skills. She has successfully prosecuted some of Fresno County’s most dangerous criminals – murderers, rapists, domestic violence offenders and child molesters. During her time as a Deputy District Attorney, she prosecuted many gang members and career criminals under California’s Three Strikes Law, resulting in life prison terms. One Fresno County Superior Court Judge was quoted as saying, “Lisa delivered the best closing argument in the history of the Fresno County Court” after she successfully convicted a domestic violence offender of three counts of attempted murder, where the victims included his ex-wife, her mother, and her brother.
During her tenure as District Attorney, DA Smittcamp brought new structure, increased productivity, and renewed morale to the office. Under her leadership, the District Attorney’s Office was able to begin staffing the Veteran’s Treatment Court to assist justice involved Veterans in their rehabilitation. She is so dedicated to this court, that she assigned herself to be the courtroom prosecutor, and has been serving these Veterans for a decade.
By improving structure and increasing productivity, she has added several specialty prosecution units to the office including Public Integrity, Major Fraud, Animal Cruelty, and Human Trafficking.
DA Smittcamp is passionate about educating young people in the County of Fresno. Under her leadership, internship programs for both college and law students have been established so that aspiring professionals can work within the office. DA Smittcamp has also developed relationships with the faith-based communities in Fresno and participates in activities that encourage the youth to remain in school and church and to dissuade them from engaging in gang activity.
In 2021, the Office of the District Attorney was moved to the Historic Rowell Building located at 2100 Tulare Street. DA Smittcamp worked tirelessly for over five years with members of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors to get the project designed, funded, and completed. The County now has a state of the art, modern office space for nearly 300 District Attorney employees, and has participated in the improvement of the downtown area.
Also, in 2021, DA Smittcamp joined forces with federal, state, and local leaders to focus on the investigation and prosecution of crimes related to counterfeit prescription drugs that are laced with fentanyl. From these relationships one of the most aggressive education and awareness campaigns regarding the fentanyl crisis began. Under DA Smittcamp’s leadership, Fresno County funded a billboard and media campaign to educate the public about the presence and lethality of fentanyl. DA Smittcamp brought law enforcement agencies together with Public Health, the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools, Behavioral Health, the Sheriff-Coroner, and local hospitals to inform them of what was happening regarding the distribution and sale of these illegal narcotics.
In addition to her other duties, DA Smittcamp is the is the Chairwoman of the Policy and Direction Team of the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC), a member of the Fresno-Madera Police Chief’s Association, the Victim Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP) Advisory Board, the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) Committee, the Fresno County Local Justice Coordinating Committee, and the Juvenile Justice Realignment Committee.
She also serves our community as a member of numerous non-profit organizations. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Fresno. She serves on the Board of Directors of Valley Children’s Hospital and is currently serving her 2nd term on the Board of Directors of the Marjaree Mason Center. Most recently, Mrs. Smittcamp has joined the inaugural Board of Directors of Fentanyl Anonymous, which was established in 2023 in Fresno by two recovering addicts and has expanded to have meetings in 10 states and 2 countries.
DA Smittcamp has been honored numerous times for her dedication to our community: In 2016, she was named one of Marjaree Mason’s Top 10 Business and Professional Women and honored by the Nation Legal Defense Fund for her dedication to fighting animal abuse; in 2017 she was named the Outstanding Law Enforcement Advocate from Centro La Familia; in 2018, she was inducted into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi for her contribution to academic excellence at CSU, Fresno, and was given the LEAD Award for outstanding leadership from Fresno’s Leading Young Professionals; in 2022 she was named Woman of the Year by the Christian Business Women’s Connection; ; in 2023 she was named “Woman Making History” of the Year by Senator Shannon Grove for CA Senate District 12; and, in 2025 she was awarded the Einar Cook Leadership Award by the Clovis Chamber of Commerce.
DA Smittcamp resides in Fresno County and is the proud mother of adult children.
History of the DA's Office