District Attorney cites weekend-duty costs, seeks AI tools for civil workload

District Attorney Arthur Mallory and Chief Deputy Lane Mills briefed the commission Feb. 18 on budget pressures facing the district attorney's office, including increased callback and weekend-duty costs imposed by recent legislative responsibilities and evolving court schedules.

Mallory said courts and public-safety work create variable overtime and callback costs the legislature only partly funded, and Lane Mills said the office is absorbing duties that have increased over time while holding on to staffing levels. Mills summarized internal work-arounds and said the office is not seeking additional attorney positions in this cycle but requested a contract increase to add AI functionality to Filevine, a case-management system, to improve civil-work efficiency.

Mills said the Filevine upgrade would help the civil team draft and review contracts, draft interrogatories and handle routine civil discovery tasks more efficiently. "For a little bit more money we can add AI to that. It's a government AI so it's protected," Mills said. He framed the request as an efficiency measure to defer the need for a new civil deputy.

Mills and Mallory also described external costs imposed by recently required weekend duties and court scheduling changes. Mills estimated a per-event callback cost and highlighted that courthouse staffing shifts (including Justice Court moving to a four-day pattern) have increased days where staff must work nonstandard hours.

Ending: Commissioners acknowledged the office's workload and thanked the DA's staff for efficiency efforts; no change in staffing was approved in the hearing, and Mills said he would return with more detail if further resources are needed.