County Attorney highlights expungements, diversion programs, human‑trafficking task force and cold‑case work

County Attorney Ammon Barker presented programmatic priorities and budget requests focused on prosecution, diversion and community protection while urging the board to weigh which operational expansions the office should prioritize in the FY26 budget.

Barker described several ongoing initiatives:

- Marijuana expungement program: The office is proactively filing petitions under the voter‑approved marijuana legalization law to clear eligible records. Barker said the office has already had more than 50 petitions granted and offers a fillable form on the county website to initiate the process at no cost to petitioners.

- Pathways diversion: The county attorney described Pathways diversion — a court‑linked program for defendants with substance‑use and lower‑level felony charges that ties participants to treatment and intensive supervision in exchange for non‑prosecution. Program staff reported a roughly 64% graduation/success figure for participants in the program’s cohort; Barker and staff say the program reduces likelihood of incarceration and downstream corrections costs.

- North Star task force (anti‑trafficking): Barker described a new multi‑agency task force that includes law enforcement, survivor‑service organizations and health‑care partners; the task force staged stings that led to dozens of arrests and increased identification of trafficking cases. Barker noted the task force integrates survivor guidance from nonprofit groups and uses coordinated outreach to rural communities.

- Cold‑case unit: The office has a small cold‑case team and recently helped secure a conviction in a long‑standing homicide matter; Barker said additional investigative and forensic resources accelerate progress on cases that can be decades old and require expensive DNA and forensic testing.

Barker asked the board to consider three near‑term budget items: continuation of 1.5 Division‑7 prosecutor positions that assist trial calendars (one‑time extension recommended); funding for evidence‑management software (Axon) and recurring analytics software (Jaspersoft); and a one‑time $100,000 addition to outside counsel to support civil legal load while the office builds internal capacity. County management recommended some but not all increments; Barker asked supervisors to prioritize among the proposals.

Ending: Barker closed by urging collaborative investment in prevention and treatment alongside prosecution. Supervisors pressed on immediate priorities and asked staff to return with refined cost‑benefit detail during final budget deliberations.