Rockwall County district attorney requests staff and operating funds as new court expected

District Attorney Kenda Culpepper on Friday presented the Rockwall County Commissioners Court with the DA office's preliminary FY2026 budget request, saying the office needs additional prosecutors and support staff to staff a new district court the legislature has authorized.

Culpepper told commissioners she expects the new court to be funded by the state for the judge but that the county will have to pay for court-assigned staff. "The state pays for the judge, but the county has to pay for the staff associated with that court," Culpepper said in her presentation.

The DA asked the court to fund five positions assigned to the new felony court (two felony trial prosecutors, one felony investigator, one paralegal and one senior clerk), a dedicated financial-crimes prosecutor, and an additional victim-advocate coordinator (bringing the county-funded total to two general-fund VACCs and one grant-funded position). Culpepper said the five assigned court positions are a priority because prosecutors, investigators and paralegals function as a trial team that must be in place to support jury weeks and heavy docket days.

Why it matters: Culpepper emphasized caseload and complexity as the basis for the requests. She said felony case dispositions increased roughly 72% from 2020 to 2024; family-violence dispositions rose about 273% and child-abuse…