It started with Tanner Sheffield, a junior at North Paulding High School. Tanner had been a great supporter even at the age of fourteen, so when he turned sixteen and had a license, I offered him an after-school job here in the District Attorney’s office. Tanner is a strapping young man who played defense for North Paulding, and the ladies in this office immediately took a (motherly) liking to him, with his infectious smile and steady work habits. Soon, Zack Toler, from Paulding High, came to us on the Paulding School District’s Work Based Learning program, and we found that these part-time young people were filling a need here in the District Attorney’s office, finishing files (checking to see what documents could be shredded and whether all relevant documents were with the file when it was closed) and running errands in the Courthouse.

And so it grew, this staff of young people, helping our Victim-Witness Advocates and Administrative Assistants with routine chores, while giving them a first-hand look at the workings of what is in reality the largest law firm in Paulding County. Tanner continued to come in on holidays and school breaks, Zack stayed through his senior year and then came during breaks when he matriculated at North Georgia College in Dahlonega.

Seated, L to R, Brian Grullon, Mitch Comer, Hunter Spurlock. Standing, L to R, Nate Barber, Zack Toler and Max Turner.

In the summer of 2015, there were six, even after Tanner left to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point: Zack Toler, Bryan Grullon (Hiram High), Nate Barber (Home-schooled), Mitch Comer (Dominion Christian), Max Turner (East Paulding), and Hunter Spurlock, who starts West Georgia very shortly. We cannot thank them enough for all that they do!

Although summer is fading it is still overwhelmingly hot outside. From the comfort of the hottest corner office in the Courthouse, here’s what your District Attorney’s office has been doing.

As reported in May, we attended the Prosecuting Attorneys Council’s summer conference at the Georgia coast, where we (fourteen Assistant District Attorneys and four Investigators and I) received continuing education in updates on case law (appellate courts’ opinions affecting criminal prosecution), the newest laws passed by the 2015 Georgia General Assembly, refined techniques for interviewing children who have been molested, gathering information in domestic violence cases, and an extensive class on firearms.

It may seem odd that lawyers would be trained in forensic interviewing or information gathering in domestic violence cases, or in firearms’ types and uses, but because we deal daily with crimes involving those elements, it’s always better to be more knowledgeable so that we better understand our local law enforcement officers’ reports, testimony and physical evidence.

There was also a two-hour track which instructed prosecutors in the appropriate handling of law enforcement officer- involved shootings and other officer-involved deaths of private citizens. It is appropriate and in these times necessary more than ever to emphasize the impartiality of the District Attorney’s office, so that no allegations that this law enforcement agency is favoring another. District Attorneys from around the state and the Prosecuting Attorneys Council’s Executive Director, who, like me, was a police officer before being admitted to the practice of law and becoming a prosecutor, offered detailed information on the handling of difficult cases, protecting the rights of the citizens and those of the law enforcement officers involved in these incidents, which can quickly become targets for the news media.

On August 14, 2015 Paulding Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Dean Bucci and I will travel together to Athens, as we have done for the last several years, to the University of Georgia School of Law where we will participate as group leaders in the State Bar of Georgia’s Orientations on Professionalism, organized jointly by the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism and the State Bar’s Professionalism Committee. These orientations are for first-year law students, and are offered (and are mandatory) for all the five law schools in Georgia.

On August 17, we will begin two weeks of jury trials, after no criminal jury trials in July. We were at summer conference the third week in July, and the judges were at their summer conference the last week, so we’ll be playing catch-up for a couple of weeks. There will always be some Defendants who want to wait until there are jurors actually ready to try the Defendant’s case before agreeing to a plea agreement to resolve the case, and there are always cases which must be tried, so whether we resolve them by pleas or by trials, we will be busy reducing our open cases.

I note with interest that Dallas, Georgia has been identified as one of the ten safest cities in Georgia. That is a wonderful distinction, and credit should be given to Dallas Police Chief Scott Halter and the men and women of the Dallas Police Department, as well as to Mayor Boyd Austin and to Sheriff Gulledge. I’m not going to try to make off with any credit, because my job starts only when the other law enforcement agencies have done theirs. Congratulations, Dallas!

As I have said repeatedly, and now say again, this office and all who work here strive daily to make Paulding County a safer and more pleasant place to raise children, worship, play and work and pursue happiness. Your support of our efforts means a great deal to us, and is much appreciated. Thank you.