James P. Fox was first elected District Attorney of San Mateo County in June,1982 and assumed office January 3, 1983 and has been re-elected every four years since without opposition.  He received his B.S. degree in psychology from the University of San Francisco in 1966 and his law degree from the University of San Francisco in 1969.  He joined the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office in January, 1970.

In January, 1974, Mr. Fox left the District Attorney’s office for private practice.  In addition to a general practice of law, he served as the City Attorney of Half Moon Bay, California from January 1974 to January, 1983.  During his private practice, Mr. Fox served as a member of the Private Defender Panel of the San Mateo County Bar Association, which, by contract, provides for indigent defense services for the County of San Mateo.

Mr. Fox served as a member of the California Bar Association’s Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluations from January, 1980 to March, 1982.  He has also served as a member of several Judicial Council Advisory Committees, including the Criminal Law Advisory Committee from 1994 to the present, the Court Profiles Committee from 1990 to 2000 and the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on Cameras in the Courtroom in 1995-96.

Mr. Fox has been active in both the California District Attorneys’ Association and the National District Attorneys’ Association.  He is a past President of CDAA and has served as chairman of the Legislative Committee of that organization since 1990.  He is also a past Vice President of NDAA and current co-chairman of the Legislative Committee of NDAA.

Mr. Fox was twice appointed as a member of the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, serving as chairman from 1993-94 and for the first six months of 1995.

He has also been active in civic affairs, including serving as a member of the Board of Directors of Mercy High School, Burlingame 1984-90, the Board of Directors Notre Dame High School, Belmont 1991-97, and Junipero Serra High School, San Mateo 2005 to present.  He also served as a member of the San Mateo County Children and Families First Commission (now named First Five) from 1999 to 2003.