By Andrew Hackmack
Schorr became a prosecutor in 1998, working in the Queens district attorney's office. He first worked in the domestic violence bureau, then homicide investigation. Schorr said he remembers being the first assistant D.A. on the scene at the Wendy's massacre in Flushing on May 24, 2000.
From 2001 to 2004, Schorr worked in the domestic violence and sex crime divisions for the Westchester County district attorney's office. He tried the case of Sheila Davalloo, who was accused of stabbing her husband in March 2003. He survived. "It was a bizarre case," Schorr said. "She was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison."
Now, five years after leaving the district attorney's office, Schorr is running for the top seat there. "This has been a goal of mine for a long time," he said.
He noted that Republicans have won the district attorney seat in Westchester County every election since 1985. The current district attorney, Janet DiFiore, was elected in 2005 and switched parties two years later.
Schorr grew up in Mill Brook -- back when it was known as Green Acres -- and remembers spending plenty of time at the mall with his friends. His parents still live in the community. He attended Forest Road School, then South High School which he graduated from in 1991.
Even in high school, Schorr knew he wanted to pursue a career in law. In 1989 as a 10th-grader, he was the grand prize winner in the Nassau County Bar Association's "Access to Justice" essay contest.
He attended college at the University of Pennsylvania. During those four years, he hosted a university news talk show, was on the executive board of student government and wrote a column called "Behind Enemy Lines" for the Daily Pennsylvanian.
Schorr then attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1998. He said that he always wanted to specialize in prosecution because he would be able to aid the victims of crime. "You can do a lot of good as a prosecutor," he said. "You can really help people."
As a prosecutor, Schorr dealt with many people including police officers, witnesses and victims. One his favorite parts has always been arguing in front of a jury. "It's always a challenge and it's never boring," he said.
Schorr attributes his desire to help people to his upbringing and surroundings as a child. "Valley Stream, I thought, was a very civic-oriented communtiy," he said. "People cared a lot about the community. People cared about making the community better. That left a big impression on me."
After his three years with the Westchester County district attorney's office, Schorr went abroad. He spent a year in Beijing, through a grant from the State Department, to teach the American justice system to members of the Chinese legal system.
He said it was a rewarding experience, and got to meet a lot of lawyers and judges. Because the two countries have very different legal systems, Schorr said most people were interested in what he had to say. "China has a very closed system where people don't have due process rights," he said.
Since returning from China, Schorr has served as a vice president in Morgan Stanley's legal division. He has since left there to focus on his campaign. Schorr has also worked as an adjunct professor in criminal law and legal writing at Pace University.
Schorr has been campaigning since last summer and said he has done well with fundraising so far. "There's still nine months left to go and a lot of work to do," he said, adding that he has received much support from police and community leaders.
If elected, Schorr will oversee an office of 120 prosecutors. Though he is running on the Republican line, he explained that party has little to do with his campaign. "There's no Democratic or Republican way to fight crime," he said. "It's more about management of the office."
