Lynneice Washington

Lynneice Washington is an American lawyer. In 2016, she was elected district attorney assigned to the Bessemer Cutoff District (Alabama) of the 10th Judicial Circuit. She is the first Black woman district attorney in the state of Alabama.

Early life Washington was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and graduated from A. H. Parker High School. Early on, she was interested in criminal justice, and despite her mother's attempts to persuade her to become a nurse or a teacher, she set her sights on going to law school. Being a lawyer "just wasn't one of those things that a lot of Black people, particularly in our family, had as a career path," Washington said. "My mother looked at that like an impossibility." She graduated from Auburn University at Montgomery and Miles Law School before working as a Defense Attorney. Washington has stated that she is working to implement a procedure she calls the "Big Ticket program", under which misdemeanor offenses such as simple marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and harassment would no longer require an arrest. Washington ceased her attempt to prosecute the case as District Attorney. She said in a news conference: "After viewing the facts of this case and the applicable state law I have determined that it is not in the best interest of justice to pursue prosecution of Ms. Jones on the manslaughter charge for which she was indicted by the grand jury. Therefore, I am dismissing this case and no further legal action will be taken against Ms. Jones in this matter."