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County attorney urges Utah County commissioners to fund prosecutors, paralegals and victim coordinators
Summary
David, the county attorney, told commissioners that increased staffing is needed to rebalance plea-heavy caseloads, expand white-collar investigations and meet statutory victim-notification and restitution duties; he requested 15 additional attorneys (already approved), six paralegals, additional investigators and six more victim-witness coordinators while flagging overtime and death-penalty fiscal risks.
David, the county attorney, told the Utah County Commission at a work session that his office needs more staff and funding to restore balance to a system that resolves nearly all cases by plea and to fulfill statutory duties to crime victims. "We resolve by way of plea bargain 99 over 99% of our cases," he said, adding that the resulting drop in jury trials concentrates prosecutorial power and reduces public confidence.
He thanked the commission for approving 15 additional attorneys and two legal assistants, which he said reduced the office’s caseload from about 240 cases per lawyer to roughly 165. David said the 15-lawyer increase represents about a $1,800,000 addition to the office budget.
Beyond prosecutors, David asked the commission to fund six additional paralegals to support trial work. He described paralegals as the "offensive line" of trials who prepare exhibits, marshal evidence and coordinate courtroom technology; four paralegals supported roughly 50 jury trials last year. He estimated…
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