District and county prosecutors told a legislative appropriations committee that rising caseloads, more complex evidence and stagnant pay are creating staffing shortages that imperil prosecutors’ ability to manage trials and meet new discovery deadlines.

The Natrona County district attorney (identified in the transcript as 'Anna') told lawmakers her office had asked for three positions in the supplemental budget but did not receive them; four attorneys began seeking other jobs, and three ultimately left. "We average right around 3,000 misdemeanors a year," she said, adding that the office handles roughly 360–400 felony cases annually and must manage seven courtrooms with nine attorneys.

"At some point, your burnout rate just gets tremendous," the Natrona prosecutor said, describing specialty programs — drug court, adult diversion and a student court — that improve outcomes but draw a prosecutor away from the full-time caseload. She asked the committee to fund two felony-line attorneys (step 3) and one legal support staff member.

Laramie County District Attorney Sylvia Hackle told the committee her office is now fully staffed after prior turnover and said she wants to keep current staffing in place. Hackle briefed lawmakers on crime trends, saying aggravated-assault cases rose more than 36 percent comparing January–October 2025 with the same period in 2024 and that the office had recorded 10 homicides so far this year. She described a recent single-day surge of new filings and said those flows create sudden demands on prosecutors.

Hackle said her office's standard biennial appropriation is about $6,582,000 — essentially flat from the prior appropriation — and outlined exception requests: federal grant match funding to cover benefit shortfalls for a grant-funded drug task attorney and roughly $109,000 for information-technology needs, including monthly licensing for Microsoft 365/Adobe and higher-capacity computers to download body-camera and dash-camera video.

A county prosecuting attorney representing the Wyoming County Attorneys Association described variation across counties and urged attention to salary competitiveness. She noted the state's standard budget includes a contribution toward county elected prosecutors and referenced statute 18-3-107 when discussing state contributions to local salaries.

Committee members asked about courtroom safety, contracting outside counsel for short-term workload spikes and whether jury costs ever affect charging decisions. Panel members were told counties generally pay jury costs and that security has been addressed through cooperation with sheriffs and additional deputies when needed.

The committee recessed and indicated it will continue agency budget work, with Representative Pentagraf named to carry the prosecutors' budget in follow-up committee proceedings.