In front of a crowd of hundreds of friends and colleagues, Layla Zon was sworn in Friday afternoon, as the first female District Attorney for the Alcovy Circuit.

Zon’s predecessor, Newton County Superior Court Judge Ken Wynne, welcomed everyone, and the Rev. Jason Dees with First Baptist Church of Covington gave the invocation.

"It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you and to introduce you to your new district attorney," Wynne said. "She has poured herself into the legal profession since becoming a lawyer… She is known for her trial experience in the courtroom and her passion for justice. It is her passion for people that will make her an excellent DA," he said.

Senior Newton County Superior Court Judge John Ott took a few moments to speak about Zon before her official swearing in.

"She exhibits passion and she exhibits it in the right way," he said. "She is a very qualified attorney and prosecutor who just happens to be – by accident of birth – a female," said Ott, amid laughs from the audience and Zon.

After being sworn in, Zon thanked everyone for coming and thanked her family and husband for supporting her.

"This job is about working hard and that’s what I believe in," she said. "I promise to work hard and try to get it right… I will always attempt to do this job with a servant’s heart. It’s about serving the public, it’s not about me," she said.

Zon began her career as a prosecutor with the DAs office in 2000 and in 2003 was appointed by Wynne as chief assistant district attorney.

She earned a bachelor's degree from Liberty University and her Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University. She is a member of the First Baptist Church of Covington and Rotary Club; she serves on the YMCA Board of Directors and the Newton County Community Partnership Board. Zon is the mock trial coach for the Newton High School Mock Trial Team and a faculty member of DeKalb Technical College’s Law Enforcement Academy.