Prosecutor furloughs may lead to dismissed cases

Furlough days for state-funded prosecutors are creating backlogs in district attorneys offices across the state. As a result, hundreds of lower-priority cases could soon be dismissed to keep more important ones on track.

“We’re concerned for more than just the welfare of our employees,” said Rick Malone, executive director for the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia. “It’s not just creating backlog. These cases may never be done.”

State-funded prosecutors this month were asked to take two furlough days in March, April and May as part of Gov. Sonny Perdue’s budget tightening. PAC officials Friday will consider whether furloughs will be necessary in June. Until now, they had been taking only one furlough day a month since September.

Each day they stay home, an estimated 492 criminal cases become backlogged, Malone said. In some cases it could mean alleged crooks walk and that has prosecutors worried about the public’s welfare.

The PAC has slashed $6 million from its $65 million budget this fiscal year, which ends June 30, in response to Perdue’s decision to cut more than $2 billion from the state budget. The state public defender system also has trimmed its budget by more than 6 percent this fiscal year.

District attorneys already lack the resources to prosecute every case brought before them. Malone said mounting backlogs may cause them to dismiss or let the statute of limitations run out on an increasing number of lower-priority “victimless” cases such as vandalism, sending illicit text messages or driving drunk after being declared a habitual violator.

District attorneys have sought a variety of solutions to keep state-funded prosecutors working.

Most counties already chip in funding to hire additional staff for their district attorney’s office. Cobb County commissioners approved a $44,000 expenditure so District Attorney Pat head could avoid furloughing state-funded prosecutors through the end of state’s fiscal year in June.

Ken Wynne, the district attorney for Newton and Walton counties, said his counties also stepped up to cover the cost of one furlough day last fall.

“The number one priority of any government is the protection of its citizens and its public safety,” Wynne said. “We’re at a point now where that is being jeopardized because of economic decisions. So I think all governments, local or state, will have to reconsider what is priority.”

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter used drug forfeiture money to pay his state-funded attorneys for the furlough day between September and December. A few weeks ago, his county-funded staffers voted to shave two hours of pay a month from their paychecks to prevent their state-funded colleagues from having to take a second furlough day through May. Porter himself gave up one day’s pay.

Furloughs have especially pounded district attorney’s offices in rural areas, where the state picks up most of the tab for staff.

Joe Mulholland, the district attorney for the South Georgia Judicial Circuit serving Decatur, Grady, Mitchell, Baker and Calhoun counties, said about 90 percent of the employees in his office are state funded. Mulholland recently decided to divide a $6,000 annual salary supplement he receives from the counties among the affected workers in his office. That won’t offset all the money they are losing, but it was a meaningful gesture of support.

“We’re all in this together,” Mulholland said.

What’s next: The Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia will meet today to discuss whether any furlough days will be required for state-funded prosecutorial staff in June. Meanwhile the Georgia Legislature is still hammering out a FY 2010 budget, which would take effect July 1. It’s not clear what sacrifices, if any, will be required from prosecutors.

By the numbers

The state pays the salary for prosecutorial staff in counties throughout Georgia. All totaled there are:

300 prosecuting attorneys

100 secretaries

50 investigators

15 victim witness workers

*Source: the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia.