County prosecutor warns of rising caseloads, urges consideration of one more attorney

Ethan told Belknap County commissioners that his office has faced an unusually heavy trial schedule and rising caseloads, saying the office already held six trials in the first three months of the year compared with 12 trials during all of 2022.

That includes a recent day he described as "scheduling at a breakneck speed," which he said prevents attorneys from preparing fully for cases. "We are being stretched thinner and thinner," Ethan said, adding that the trend is not entirely within the office's control and reflects broader scheduling and resource issues among defense counsel and the courts.

The update noted a recent assistant county attorney left for the state attorney general’s office and that a new attorney — a recent law-school graduate — started quickly, narrowing a vacancy that might otherwise have taken months to fill. Ethan said support staff levels are lower than in comparable counties and that the office currently has fewer attorneys than several nearby jurisdictions.

Commissioners asked whether the composition of cases has changed; Ethan said he is seeing "more severe kinds of crimes" and an increase in violent cases, including many trials involving child-victim allegations. He said regional partners report similar pressures and that some counties average roughly 100 filings per attorney.

On the staffing question, Ethan recommended monitoring the rest of the year and, if caseloads do not stabilize, discussing an additional attorney during the next budget cycle. "I would say at this point it would be one," Ethan said of the possible request, adding he wants to ensure attorneys have time to prepare cases thoroughly and avoid burnout.

The commissioners asked staff to report back in a future update if caseloads approach the 150-case-per-attorney threshold discussed during the meeting.