In January of 2007, Vern became El Dorado County's District Attorney. He has personally prosecuted numerous, significant cases such as the murder of C.H.P Officer Scott Russell and Phil and Nancy Garrido for the 1991 abduction of Jaycee Lee Dugard. He created a highly successful Cold Homicide Task Force and developed one of the first paperless prosecutor's offices in California. For more than five years he has also served as the county's Chief Technology Officer. Vern serves on the Board of Directors for the California District Attorneys Association and is the co-chair of the Association's Ethics and Insurance Fraud Committees.