Date: April 4, 2018
ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY MARGARET ROPER PROMOTED TO SENIOR ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY
SANTA ANA, Calif. – Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas has announced the promotion of Assistant District Attorney Margaret Roper to the position of senior assistant district attorney assigned to oversee Branch Court Operations at Central, Harbor, West and North Justice Centers.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Margaret Roper was born in Long Beach and grew up in Rancho Palos Verdes. Roper graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, with a bachelor of arts degree in 1992. While at Notre Dame, she was a resident assistant, a rape crisis counselor, and an actress in school plays. Roper then attended Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, where she earned her juris doctor degree. At Loyola, she competed in the Scott Moot Court Competition as a Scott Moot Court Honors Board member and as a Traynor Moot Court Competition team member. She represented Loyola in the American Bar Association Law Student Division and was actively involved in Loyola’s Public Interest Law Foundation.
After graduating from law school, Roper worked as an associate at the law firm of Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP in Los Angeles for close to a year before joining the Orange County District Attorney’s Office as a deputy district attorney in 1996. She completed dozens of felony jury trials, including a sexual assault case and a pimping and pandering case, on the Felony Panel and then in the Gang Unit. While in the Gang Unit in 2004, she was promoted to senior deputy district attorney. Roper tried and convicted defendants in gang homicide cases and other serious and violent gang cases. Roper was promoted to the Homicide Unit where she continued to try homicide cases, ultimately convicting nine defendants of murder, including six with findings of special circumstances. During this time, Roper trained prosecutors on various legal topics for the Office and taught trial advocacy courses for prosecutors from around the country at the National District Attorneys Association’s National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina.
In 2007, Roper was transferred from the Homicide Unit to be the assistant head of court at West Justice Center. She was promoted to assistant district attorney in 2011 and served as the head of court at North Justice Center and then at West Justice Center. Roper gained comprehensive knowledge and extensive experience in all aspects of Branch Court management as she supervised numerous felony and misdemeanor attorneys. Roper was transferred to be the assistant district attorney supervising the Major Fraud Unit in 2017. She oversaw the Unit as attorneys and investigators engaged in complex and sophisticated investigation and litigation of major fraud felonies, including cybercrimes, financial elder abuse crimes, real estate fraud crimes, fraudulent investment schemes, embezzlements, securities violations, tax law violations, and identity theft crimes.
“Margaret has extensive knowledge on prosecuting tough, violent crimes as well as complex financial crimes,” stated District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. “She has developed a reputation of being a fair, knowledgeable manager and she will be an excellent developer of talent among new attorneys, as well as managing resources for high volume counts.”
“I am honored that District Attorney Tony Rackauckas has afforded me the opportunity to serve the Office in this position. I am committed to the District Attorney’s prosecutorial values, his vision for the future, and his core mission to enhance public safety and welfare and create a sense of security in the community through the vigorous enforcement of criminal and civil laws in a just, honest, efficient and ethical manner,” stated Roper. “Serving as the Senior Assistant District Attorney overseeing Branch Court Operations, I look forward especially to developing, mentoring, and leading a new generation of prosecutors in conducting prosecutions in a highly ethical manner that ensures justice for all parties.”