Melinda Aiello is the Acting District Attorney of Yolo County, which is one of California’s fifty-eight counties, located in Northern California, between the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento. Aiello has served as a prosecutor for 29 years. Prior to becoming Acting District Attorney, Aiello was the Chief Deputy District Attorney in Yolo County. She came to Yolo County in December 2015 as an Assistant Chief.
During her career as a prosecutor, Aiello has focused intently on advocating for victims of crime. She specialized in prosecuting domestic violence and child and adult sexual assault cases.
As Acting District Attorney, she will pursue a balanced approach to public safety. Through strategic methods designed to enhance offender accountability and reduce violent crime, while also embracing innovative programs to help those suffering from serious addiction and mental illness.
Aiello supports diversion of criminal cases from the traditional justice system by embracing Restorative Justice in appropriate misdemeanor and felony cases. She will continue to publish case data in continued collaboration with non-profit, Measures for Justice, who independently verify the data. The portal provides the public nearly unrestricted access to criminal justice data from her office, while also giving community members a platform to directly share their findings and engage policy makers and the media on the data.
Acting District Attorney Aiello is a member of the California District Attorneys Association.
Education:
B.A. – University of California at Davis – Political Science and Sociology
J.D. – California Western School of Law
LL.M. – Chapman University – Prosecutorial Science
