Leadership

John J. Flynn
NDAA President 

John J. Flynn is currently serving his second term as the 41st District Attorney of Erie County.

District Attorney Flynn was born and raised in Western New York. After graduating from Bowling Green State with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1988, Flynn joined the United States Navy. He attended Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. Upon graduation, he was commissioned an Ensign. Flynn attended Navy Supply Corps School in Athens, Georgia before being assigned to the USS CLEVELAND (LPD-7), stationed in San Diego, California, as the Assistant Supply Officer, deploying overseas to the Western Pacific and serving during the Gulf War.

After fulfilling his naval commitment, Flynn returned to Western New York to attend University at Buffalo School of Law. He continued to serve in the Naval Reserves while studying for his Juris Doctor degree. After graduating from UB Law in 1995, he returned to active duty in the Navy Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps. Flynn served as a Navy attorney at the Pensacola Naval Air Station where he was appointed as a Special Assistant United States Attorney. He served his final two years on active duty at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland as the Officer-in-Charge of the Office of Legal Counsel. During his time on active duty, he was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals.

In 2001, Flynn left active duty and returned home to Western New York where he served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Erie County District Attorney’s Office. He was quickly promoted to the Homicide Bureau until he entered private law practice. Flynn was a personal injury attorney from 2002 to 2016. He was also a lecturer at SUNY Buffalo State from 2009 to 2016, where he instructed a Moot Court class in the Political Science Department.

Flynn continued to serve in the Naval Reserves until his retirement in 2017, reaching the rank of Commander. In 2001, he re-affiliated with the Reserves and earned four additional Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals.

In 2003, Flynn decided to make his first run for public office and won a seat on the Tonawanda Town Board. In December of 2006, Flynn was appointed as Town Justice in the Town of Tonawanda and won election to a full term the following year. In 2008, Flynn was appointed an acting Buffalo City Court Judge. In 2010, Flynn left the bench and was appointed as Town Attorney in Tonawanda. In 2016, Flynn was elected as Erie County District Attorney and took office on January 1, 2017. He is currently serving his second term as District Attorney after running unopposed for re-election in 2020.

District Attorney Flynn currently serves as the President of the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA). He is also the first Vice President of the District Attorneys Association of New York. He will become the President of DAASNY next year.

DA Flynn resides in the Town of Tonawanda with his wife, Debra, and has five children.

Officers
President-Elect – Charlie Smith, Frederick, MD
Chair of the Board – Billy West, Fayetteville, NC
Treasurer – Jennifer Webb-McRae, Bridgeton, NJ

NDAA Board of Directors