Cherokee County district attorney highlights trial activity, service dog support and lab backlog fix

Susan Treadaway, the elected district attorney for the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, briefed the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners on office staffing, recent trial activity and new victim-support tools during the countys Aug. 19 work session.

Treadway opened by outlining the offices mission and staffing levels, saying the office includes "27 prosecutors, 21 investigators, 10 victim witness advocates, 8 secretaries and 5 other support personnel." She credited team members for heavy trial work in 2024 and into 2025, including back-to-back superior-court murder trials that drew national media attention.

The nut graf: The DAs presentation emphasized increasing caseloads and courtroom work while highlighting two operational changes intended to speed case processing and improve victim support: the placement of a service dog with the domestic violence unit and a new process with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation that reduced a backlog in drug-sample testing.

Treadway introduced Parker, a service dog assigned to the DAs office. Parkers handler is Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Rachel Ash, who leads the offices domestic-violence unit. Treadway said Parker "is specially trained to sense anxiety in others and then react in a way that brings about a calming, relaxing environment for that individual" and that caregivers and victims use the dog in court-preparation settings. The DA said Parker joined the office in October 2023 through the nonprofit Tales of Hope and that children who meet Parker have created drawings shown in the office.

Treadway summarized case closures by category in 2024 and through mid-2025: "Our office closed 606 drug cases, 547 juvenile cases, 378 persons cases and 342 property cases in 2024," and she said probation-revocation matters accounted for a large share of repeat court activity. She also said, "By midpoint 2025, our office conducted more superior court trials than we did in all of 2024," noting multiple active jury trials the week of the presentation.

On lab testing, Treadway described work with GBI Director Chris Hosey and the Prosecuting Attorneys Council that she said produced policy changes at the GBI crime lab. She said those changes "have not only eliminated the backlog of substances for Cherokee County, but also include testing of those certain substances which once required outsourced private lab testing at our expense." Treadway said the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit is the first in the state to have eliminated its backlog and described a guaranteed 30-day turnaround for the revised preliminary testing process. She and the board discussed that the process provides preliminary results that speed nontrial resolutions while full testing remains required if a case goes to trial.

Treadway also described a voluntary change in courtroom workflow: senior secretaries in the DAs office now draft courtroom sentences previously prepared by the Department of Community Supervision. She told commissioners that change "has resulted in more accurate final case dispositions and has additionally saved county and state resources" and that the Department of Community Supervision reallocated probation officers to field supervision as a result.

The presentation included awards and media coverage of the offices work. Treadway noted staff recognition, including ADA Rachel Murphy being named Prosecutor of the Year by the Georgia Retail Organized Crime Alliance, and cited prosecutions handled by the office for other jurisdictions when conflicts required outside prosecutors.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about lab changes, Parkers role, and workload. Chair comments praised the offices work, and commissioners expressed appreciation for staff community engagement and interjurisdictional assistance.

Ending: Treadway closed by making copies of the offices most recent annual report available to commissioners and offering to meet individually to discuss details.