Mobile Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis is asking the city council to approve an increase in supplemental funding to the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office.
As part of an agreement with the Mobile County Commission, Mobile has provided $1 in supplemental operational funding. District Attorney Keith Blackwood’s office made the request.
The DA’s office had nearly 10,000 pending circuit court cases just three years ago. Blackwood said thanks to the funding, that number has been cut in half.
The DA’s office has 27 prosecutors, not counting Blackwood, who is elected. If funding is not provided, the office would have to cut seven of those positions, which would increase the backlog.
“If that were to happen, the reallocation of the existing caseload would overwhelm and crush the remaining attorneys,” Blackwood stated in the request. “Trials will be delayed. Victims will be forced to wait longer for justice. Dangerous offenders will remain in the system longer without resolution. Justice, quite frankly, will grind to a halt.”
Blackwood said prosecutors are already experiencing burnout with unsustainable caseloads.
“We ask the City to maintain its commitment to public safety with continued funding for this office,” he said. “In light of the fact that more than 60% of the felony crimes we prosecute are City of Mobile cases, the City has a legitimate stake in the proficiency of this office. This support does not place us ahead, it simply prevents us from falling further behind.”
Cheriogotis said an increase is needed to support timely prosecution of cases.
“According to the request, the $1.1 million from the City would help avoid a potential reduction in local prosecutors that could prolong criminal trials, delay justice for crime victims and create unsustainable caseloads for the remaining state prosecutors,” a press release stated.
The DA’s office is a state agency and funded by the state. The supplemental funding began in 2022 to address a backlog of cases from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city said Blackwood’s office warned that justice could “grind to a halt” if it did not receive the funding.
“There’s no question that the responsibility of adequately funding prosecutors falls on our state leaders in Montgomery, and we will continue to press for a long-term solution at the state level,” Cheriogotis said. “However, we are not going to put public safety on the back burner in the meantime. We’re acting now to protect the citizens of Mobile and Mobile County. I am grateful that the Mobile City Council recognizes the urgency of this critical investment.”
Further, Cheriogotis urged state legislators to prioritize funding for prosecutors this session.
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