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Attorney general seeks $140,000 and one attorney FTE to sustain specialty courts in Minnehaha and start DUI court in Lincoln
Summary
Attorney General Marty Jackley asked the House Committee on Appropriations to fund a one‑FTE attorney and $140,000 to support prosecution participation in Minnehaha County specialty courts and to enable Lincoln County to start a DUI specialty court; the committee deferred the request to allow an MOU and details to be completed.
Attorney General Marty Jackley asked the House Committee on Appropriations to approve funding for one full‑time prosecutor position and $140,000 in one‑time costs to preserve prosecution participation in Minnehaha County specialty courts and to help Lincoln County start a DUI specialty court.
Jackley said prosecution participation is essential to the operation of drug courts, DUI courts and veterans courts because prosecutors serve as the “gatekeeper” who screens candidates, attends team meetings and enforces consequences including handling absconders. He told the committee that Minnehaha County’s specialty courts currently have about 46 active participants and that prosecution resources were no longer available on the county side; he said without an arrangement the prosecutorial role would lapse. “If we don't do this, it likely goes away,” Jackley said, adding that absconders (participants who stop complying with program requirements) were a particular concern.
Jackley proposed a memorandum of understanding among the Attorney General’s Office and the state’s attorneys of Minnehaha and Lincoln counties to house the new FTE in the Minnehaha County State's Attorney’s Office while supervision and prosecution remain local. He estimated the total cost at $140,000 (salary at an Attorney 2 level approximated at $129,000 plus $11,000 for supplies and expenses) and recommended the state treat the request as a pilot given the population concentration in the two counties.
Committee members asked whether other counties would be affected and whether specialty courts are widely used; Jackley said many counties use nearby specialty court capacity but that the Minnehaha/Lincoln situation required a dedicated full‑time prosecutor. The committee discussed options including placing funds temporarily in a general contingency fund while Jackley, the state’s attorneys and the Unified Judicial System completed a memorandum of understanding. Committee members then deferred action to a later date to allow details and an MOU to be finalized.
The committee did not approve the funding at the hearing; it directed further work between the Attorney General, the counties and UJS and deferred a decision.
