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"From mid-February until last week, we only had four attorneys to handle the entire caseload," County Attorney Derek Weimer told the county board. "We've added Todd Morten and Andrea Longoria, so we're back up to six attorneys, which is where we should be."
He said a smaller than usual staff made the bumps in the road more apparent. So he proposed some changes that would make his office more efficient.
One of the reasons Weimer cited for the reorganization included to ensure that charges are consistent for similar offenses. "I want to make sure the attorneys are looking at the same case information and making the same decisions in terms of how to charge," he said.
The reorganization would also allow similarly charged offenses to be handled in a consisted fashion throughout the office. He said that consistency is especially important when it comes to dealing with victims and witnesses of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and similar cases.
"These types of cases take up a disproportionate amount of time on the part of the prosecutor to both evaluate the case and assure you're getting justice for the victims," Weimer said.
Also, having attorneys handling cases in a specific area allow the office to better manage its training budget when they need continuing education.
Weimer's proposal was to create separate divisions to handle specific types of cases. Two attorneys assigned to the family and juvenile division would handle a restricted caseload that accounts for about 15 percent of the office's total cases.
Weimer told the board that while that number of cases seems small, they take a large amount of time to move through the courts.
"In a standard case of child abuse or neglect, a case that starts today will likely still be pending in some fashion at least two years down the road," he said. "For some of those kids, the only consistent person in their case might be the prosecutor."
Two other attorneys from Weimer's will work in the proposed criminal division. Last year, the county attorney handled about 4,700 criminal cases.
Weimer and another attorney will pick up any remaining work from both the new divisions.
Separate divisions will also give law enforcement officers the knowledge of which person to contact regarding any particular case.
Weimer said at a later date, he would like to add a civil division.
Under the new organizational setup, attorney Tiffany Wasserburger would be in charge of the family and juvenile division, which has been her primary focus during her seven years with the office. John Childress would head up the criminal division.
"This organization gives me the opportunity to establish a more clear chain of command both inside and outside the office," Weimer said.
The proposal was only listed on the commissioners' agenda as a discussion item. However the board gave Weimer their unanimous support.
