Longtime Cobb prosecutor named chief assistant district attorney

A veteran prosecutor has been named as chief assistant district attorney in Cobb County.

District Attorney Joyette Holmes last week appointed John Pursley to the position. Pursley has more than 18 years of experience, the last 10 of which he’s served with the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.

“I am honored to have been chosen by District Attorney Joyette Holmes to serve as her chief assistant district Attorney,” Pursley said. “I look forward to assisting her in achieving her vision for this office and Cobb County. I am eager to get to work.”

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As chief assistant district attorney, Pursley will handle supervisory and administrative duties as delegated by Holmes, who was appointed in June by Gov. Brian Kemp as Cobb's district attorney. There are 45 prosecutors in the office, which has an annual operating budget of about $8 million. The District Attorney's Office in 2018 handled more than 6,000 new felony cases, it said.

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Before his promotion, Pursley led the office’s Accountability Courts unit. He also is a member of the Recovery Roundtable Leadership Council, a group of local residents and leaders fighting the opioid epidemic, and volunteers with Restoring Lives Alliance, a nonprofit organization that supports the Accountability Courts.