David Freed

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David Freed

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Republican Party

Prior offices

Cumberland County District Attorney

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Education

High school

Camp Hill High School

Bachelor's

Washington and Lee University

Law

Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson Law

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Personal Facebook

David Freed is the Cumberland County District Attorney. He was a Republican candidate for Attorney General of Pennsylvania in the 2012 election but was defeated in the general election by Kathleen Kane (D).

Biography

Freed grew up in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, the same place he resides today. He graduated from Camp Hill High School in 1988 and proceeded to earn his B.A. from Washington and Lee University. The future District Attorney attended Penn State University's Dickinson School of Law for his J.D. After graduating from law school, Freed worked in a private practice focusing on insurance defense litigation. He crossed into public service withs jobs such as assistant district attorney in Cumberland County and deputy prosecutor in York County. He also served as first assistant district attorney for five years, a role in which he gained experience handling violent crime cases.

Freed is regularly called upon to give lectures on law-enforcement topics, ranging from trial advocacy to sexual assault, at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute and his alma mater. Freed is an honorary board member for the Keystone Area Council of Boy Scouts of America, coaches little league baseball and basketball, and is a former president of the Lion Foundation, a nonprofit charitable foundation started in 2003 to benefit the Camp Hill School District and community.

Education

• Camp Hill High School (1988)
• Bachelor's of Arts, Washington and Lee University
• J.D., Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law

Political career

Before deciding to run on the Republican ticket for Attorney General of Pennsylvania in 2012, Freed had been an active member of the Republican Party, serving as a member of the Republican State Committee Commonwealth Club, on the Republican State Committee Judicial Evaluation Panel, and as a surrogate speaker for statewide Republican candidates.

District Attorney (2006-present)

Freed was appointed to the office of Cumberland County District Attorney in 2006 and then elected to a full term in 2007. He was re-elected to the position in 2011.

Elections

2012

See also: Pennsylvania attorney general election, 2012

Freed was the 2012 Republican candidate for Pennsylvania attorney general. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary on April 24, 2012. Freed faced Kathleen Kane (D) and Marakay Rogers (L) in the general election on November 6, 2012, which was won by Kane.

According to GOP insiders, "Freed's campaign for AG is Governor Tom Corbett’s top electoral priority in 2012."

Attorney General of Pennsylvania General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Kathleen Kane	56.1%	3,125,557
	Republican	David Freed	41.6%	2,313,506
	Libertarian	Marakay Rogers	2.3%	128,140
Total Votes				5,567,203
Election results via Pennsylvania Department of State

Issues

• Eliminating the statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse cases
  

Freed made eliminating the statute of limitations for prosecuting childhood sexual abuse criminals a priority of his campaign. Three bills dedicated to this cause - House Bill 2488 and amended versions of House Bills 832 and 878 - were drafted and successfully vetted by the Justice Committee. In an July 18 Op-Ed published in Lehigh Valley's newspaper The Morning Call Freed wrote that together, the bills would do away with the statute of limitations for child sex abuse criminal cases, "raise the statute from age 30 to age 50 for civil cases and cap the percentage a lawyer can collect in successful suits." If elected, Freed also wants to create a special victims unit to assist victims of sex crimes.

• Easing restrictions on wiretapping

Freed and his opponent both criticized the state's laws on wiretapping, which dictated the standards of admissibility of incriminating recordings in the courtroom. Currently, audio or video proof of criminal activity is legally immaterial if captured without the advance knowledge and permission of the parties being recorded. The growing prevalence of smart phones and other easy-recording technologies had resulted in a corresponding increase in incriminating recordings. Freed and Kane agreed that the laws were out of date, and both support a bill to overhaul the laws after 14 years of stagnancy. In an interview conducted by the Associated Press in late July, Freed said that incontrovertible proof should not be denied in court based on a lack of mutual consent. "The possibility is certainly out there that people can record themselves being victimized on their ... smartphones and that could be valid evidence that we're artificially unable to use."

• Sandusky fallout

In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky trial and June conviction on 45 counts sexual abuse, Freed and Democratic opponent Kathleen Kane were given the spotlight to contribute their performance reviews for the attorney general office's handling of the high-profile, long-term investigation. Freed commended Corbett and his appointed successor Linda Kelly on their successful leadership efforts throughout the case. He followed by saying that the case brought Pennsylvania's persisting criminal statute of limitations on child abuse cases to the fore. If elected, he would seek the law's repeal as well as raise the age limits for filing civil cases in child sex abuses cases from 30 to 50. Freed also wants to expand the office to include "a victims’ rights unit to assist in the prosecution of child abuse cases."

• Political corruption cases

Freed used the attorney general's office to cultivate partnerships with district attorneys and the U.S. Attorney General to ensure against jurisdictional constraints and conflicts of interest in the investigation and prosecution of corrupt public officials. In response to a questionnaire distributed by The Legal Intelligencer in April, Freed emphasized the importance of seeking justice over personal glory with respect to political corruption cases. Despite having faith in district attorneys to notify the attorney general as needed, Freed supported a law requiring district attorneys to report all corruption cases to the Attorney General's Office so together they could coordinate an optimal course for investigating and positioning the case. "For various reasons including evidence, resources, witnesses, use of or a need for a grand jury, each case is unique,"and deserves to be positioned according to its unique conditions.

• Crime

Freed asserted a more progressive stance on crime than some might expect from an attorney general candidate insofar as wanting to not just be "tough on crime, but be smart on crime" by focusing primarily on keeping people out of prison and being merciful when necessary. Nevertheless, Freed supports "aggressive approaches to violent offenders.". Indeed, he has differentiated himself from general election opponent Kathleen Kane on the issue by signing a pledge to seek the death penalty for first-degree murderers prior to trial.

• Photo ID Bill

Freed stuck to the party line after the Pennsylvania State Senate passed legislation on March 9, 2012 which will require voters to present photo-identification for their votes to be counted in future elections. In clear and predictable dissent from his Democratic counterparts vying for the attorney general's office in the 2012 election, Freed expressed his support for the bill, saying that he would be "more than comfortable" enforcing the law. He acknowledged that in his over six years as Cumberland County District Attorney he has yet to encounter any voter-impersonators, but defended the requirement nonetheless, stating "anything that prevents fraud is a positive step," and it's not much to ask of Pennsylvanians to show ID.

• Ultrasound Bill

Although the mandatory ultrasound proposal was stalled in the House during election season, the issue was food for debate for the 2012 attorney general candidates. Democratic primary candidate Murphy made the bill a focus of his campaign, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional,” and called on both his primary opponent Kathleen Kane and his potential general election opponent, Republican David Freed, to engage in the discussion. While the Democratic candidates vowed their refusal to enforce such legislation if elected, Freed did not take the bait. When prompted to offer his stance on the bill, Freed dodged the importunity, saying, “That’s playing politics with this issue. This idea of ‘I call on you to denounce this, or denounce that, or do this, or do that, is a lot of political hullabaloo at this point that really doesn’t have a lot to do with who’s the most qualified candidate for attorney general.”

• Healthcare reform

Responding to a questionnaire issued by The Legal Intelligencer in April 2012, Freed promised that, if elected, he would continue Pennsylvania's participation, initiated by Gov. Corbett when he was attorney general, in the multi-state lawsuit brought against President Obama's healthcare overhaul. "Obamacare is an unconstitutional power grab by the federal government and as attorney general, the citizens of Pennsylvania can be assured that I will protect them from such overreaching actions," Freed said, in contrast with the Democratic candidates in the race at the time, both of whom vowed to withdraw from the lawsuit.

Endorsements

Among his list of supporters, Freed was endorsed by Gov. Tom Corbett.

List of Freed's 2012 election endorsors

Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Corbett Bob Branstetter, Senior adviser and direct mail consultant Vince Galko, general consultant Brabender/Cox, media advisors Jennifer Holman Zaborney, finance director Carey Dunn and Amy Petraglia, western Pa. fundraisers Kristin Clarke, eastern Pa. fundraiser Adams County District Attorney Shawn C. Wagner Bedford County District Attorney William J Higgins, Jr Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler Butler County District Attorney Richard A. Goldinger Clarion County District Attorney Mark T. Aaron Crawford County District Attorney Francis J. Schultz Dauphin County District Attorney Edward M. Marsico, Jr Erie County District Attorney Jack Daneri Franklin County District Attorney Matthew Fogal Juniata County District Attorney Cory Snook Huntingdon County District Attorney George N. Zanic Lancaster District Attorney Craig Stedman Lebanon County District Attorney David J. Arnold, Jr Lehigh County District Attorney James B. Martin Montour County District Attorney Robert W. Buehner, Jr Pike County District Attorney Raymond J. Tonkin. Snyder County District Attorney Michael Piecuch Sullivan County District Attorney Leonard Simpson Susquehanna County District Attorney Jason J. Legg Tioga County District Attorney George W. Wheeler Washington County District Attorney Steven M. Toprani York County District Attorney Tom Kearney

Noteworthy events

Republican PAC ad opposing Kane

In late September 2012, the Republican State Leadership Committee in Washington, D.C., the PAC backing Freed (R), paid $558,700 to air a television advertisement on select Philadelphia stations containing allegedly false statements about Kane. The RSLC ad cited an example of a plea bargain that had been made in a rape case during Kane's stint at the Lackawanna District Attorney's office, portraying her involvement in the deal to make her look "soft" on rape. Soon after its release, the content of the ad was refuted by the father of one of the two rape victims whose cases were mentioned. “I’d like to ask the people who made this outrageous advertisement if they would like their daughter’s tragic story all over television...if they can't convince people to vote for [Freed] without lying, he should not even be running,” the father wrote in a letter first published in the Philadelphia Daily News. Documentation provided by the DA's office confirmed the father's claim that Kane's involvement in the case was purely administrative and ended after the preliminary filing stage, leading the PAC to pull the ad and publicly acknowledge the error. The RSLC removed any reference to the rape case and promptly re-released the edited version, but continued airing the original ad on their website, angering the campaign more. “Freed needs to tell his people to take their ad down immediately and take their special interest money and their dirty tricks and get out of Pennsylvania. The people of Pennsylvania deserve better,” said a campaign spokesman.

After pressure by Kane's campaign, Freed's campaign manager commented on the events, saying, "It’s our sincere hope that our opponent, as well as any outside groups that are supporting our campaign or our opponent’s campaign, conduct themselves in an honest and ethical manner.” He made no mention of the ad or the implications about Freed's relationship to the PAC.

Campaign finance summary

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Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
David Freed resides in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania with his wife Amy and their three young children, Thomas, Elizabeth, and Natalie.

Contact

Campaign Contact:
Friends of David Freed
P.O. Box 872
Camp Hill, PA 17001-0872
Tel: 717-701-5235
Email: info@DavidFreedforAG.com

District Attorney's Office Contact:
David J. Freed, District Attorney
1 Courthouse Sq.
Rm. 202
Carlisle, PA 17013
Email: districtattorney@ccpa.net Tel: 717.240.6210
Tel: 888.697.0371 x6210 or 6211
Fax: 717.240.6164

See also

• Attorney General of Pennsylvania
• Current Attorney General of PA Linda Kelly
• Pennsylvania attorney general election, 2012
• Governor of Pennsylvania
• Current Gov. of Pennsylvania Tom Corbett

External links

• Politics1.com
• Official Campaign Website
• Freed for AG on Facebook
• Follow Freed's campaign on Twitter
• Freed for AG on YouTube