Santa Clara County in California gets Indian-American Deputy District Attorney Harry Dhillon

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Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office (SCDA) announced on Jan. 27 the appointment of their newest prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Harjot “Harry” Dhillon, according to a press release from SCDA.

Dhillon’s interest in the law began as a young boy, watching a family member face repeated criminal prosecution. He lived in a household marked by mental illness, domestic violence, and police intervention. “But it is my past which motivates me to keep pushing,” as he is quoted saying in the press release.

Dhillon recalls attending a criminal court hearing as a kid, after which a prosecutor explained to him the ethical role of prosecutors within the criminal justice system.

“That conversation made me appreciate the necessary candor and honesty involved in representing the People. And now it has given me the ability to understand that each file I touch, no matter the charge, has ramifications for not only that person but that person’s family. I grasped the importance of enforcing the laws at the root of our social system, while also remaining cognizant of its power over the lives of others,” he says in the release.

Dhillon, a practicing Sikh who speaks fluent Punjabi is a volunteer for the Sikh Sports Association. Since 2014, he has helped the SSA organize local sports tournaments and track meets for underprivileged youth in the greater Bay Area. As a native Bay Area resident, he welcomes the opportunity to continue serving his community, the release says.

Dhillon graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, Irvine in 2017. He received his law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law in 2020.

While there, he was a member of the South Asian Law Student Association, a research editor for the National Black Law Journal, and a member of the Fall 2018 Mock Trial Internal Competition Honorary Prosecution Team.

Dhillon began his career at the SCDA Office as a law clerk in 2018.