Joseph D. Platania

Joseph D. Platania has served as the Charlottesville Commonwealth's Attorney since 2018. He attended Providence College and later the Washington and Lee University School of Law, graduating in 1998. His early career involved defending death row inmates. In 1999, he became one of the first attorneys at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Public Defender's Office. He joined the Charlottesville Commonwealth Attorney's Office in 2003. A notable case he prosecuted was that of James Alex Fields Jr. for the 2017 murder of Heather Heyer during the Unite the Right rally.