Rebecca Zimmer Donaldson was born and raised in Wilmington, NC. She believes in fairness, justice, and this community.

 

With a commitment to ensuring that violent criminals and career criminals are held accountable, Rebecca also understands that jails and prisons are not always where those with substance abuse disorders and mental health issues belong. Rebecca is committed to rehabilitation for those capable of reform, understanding that by addressing the root cause of crime, we make our community a safer and healthier place to live. 

 

Rebecca has dedicated her entire professional career to public service. For the past 9 years, she has advocated for victims of crime as a prosecutor. She has prosecuted people for committing the most unspeakable crimes and helped victims navigate the justice system. 

 

She began her career in Brooklyn, New York where she honed her skills as a fierce litigator and advocate for fairness, justice, and equality. Wanting to use her advocacy skills to serve her community, Rebecca returned home to make a difference.

 

While in New Hanover and Pender Counties, Rebecca served as an Assistant District Attorney for over four years where she prosecuted financial crimes, property crimes, rapes, murders, and many other types of cases. She built a reputation for fairness, honesty, and integrity. She has fought to ensure that the laws of our great state are applied and equally enforced ensuring that all people are treated fairly. 

 

After Attorney General Josh Stein drafted and championed the Survivor Act, which aimed at testing all untested rape kits in North Carolina, Rebecca tried the first rape cold case in the State that was tested following the funding. In recognition for her excellence in the prosecution of that case, Rebecca was awarded the ‘Service Above Self’ award by then District Attorney Ben David.

 

On September 4, 2024, Rebecca Zimmer Donaldson was appointed by Governor Roy Cooper to serve as District Attorney. Rebecca is committed to maintaining a standard of professionalism, leadership, and accountability to our criminal justice system and to our community. 

 

Rebecca lives in Wilmington with her husband, Scott, and two daughters. 

 

The Team 

The District Attorney's office is the largest law firm in the Sixth District. We have 23 Assistant District Attorneys and 29 non-lawyers, made up of victim witness assistants, investigators and court liaisons for law enforcement agencies, for a total of 52 dedicated public servants who represent the nearly 300,000 people living in these two counties. All of them serve at the will of the elected District Attorney, which means they can be hired or fired without cause. The experience among this team is unbelievable: among the lawyers alone, for example, we have well over 200 combined years of experience prosecuting crime. To learn about the office structure and to contact individuals, see the Staff Directory. 

 

Sworn Duties 

We have two primary responsibilities in the District Attorney’s Office: first, to advise local law enforcement, and second, to prosecute every criminal matter in the territorial jurisdictions of both New Hanover and Pender Counties. There are more than 1,000 sworn law officers in over 20 different state and federal law enforcement agencies with whom we work every day. We employ a police/prosecutor team approach and proactively work with officers during all phases of a case. When cases come to trial, we set the calendar and have the burden of proof in all cases from simple traffic offenses to first degree murder. There are more than 50,000 traffic offenses, 20,000 misdemeanors, and 5,000 felonies calendared each year in the Sixth District. We keep the courts running five days a week. 

 

Setting Priorities and Setting the Tone 

If everything is a priority then nothing is. Our priority has been, and will continue to be, the prosecution of violent crimes and career criminals. We will always be defined by the cases we try in front of juries; however, winning murder trials not only gives justice to victims in those individual cases, it sets the tone for the whole District. When you consistently win the big cases in front of juries, then the drug dealers, thieves and other violent offenders line up to plead guilty to their charges. This saves valuable resources and court time. The truth is, around the state, 98% of all cases result in a plea--a non-jury disposition in front of a judge. We are no different in this District and with the case volume we have, it is the only practical way to keep the docket moving.

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