Lawmakers press AG on case backlog; Charity Clark says office will focus on violent crimes and offer targeted support to counties

Senators at the appropriations hearing pressed Attorney General Charity Clark about a reported statewide backlog in prosecutorial caseloads. One senator described 14 counties with a combined backlog “over 23,000 cases” and asked whether the attorney general could provide assistance to county prosecutors.

Clark said the attorney general’s office “approach[es] things is to focus on the most violent crimes” and described an ongoing practice of deferring to county state’s attorneys while offering support where needed. She noted the office already prosecutes homicides in some circumstances and that the office has offered to take additional homicide cases — an offer she said remains standing.

Clark said the office has six positions in its criminal unit and that the office’s workload includes ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) investigations and prosecutions tied to federal funding. She said some county offices are small, with one or two lawyers, and that the attorney general’s office routinely provides support, co‑prosecutes and stands ready to assist counties whose caseloads exceed local capacity.

Senator Norris and others pressed on whether the state could do more; Clark noted that the constitutional and statutory structure gives state’s attorneys primary local responsibility but that the attorney general has concurrent jurisdiction and will step in on major violent cases or where local conflicts exist.

No binding commitments to take additional nonviolent caseloads were recorded in the transcript; rather, Clark emphasized targeted support for severe violent offenses, co‑prosecution and ongoing offers of assistance to counties that request help.