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City Attorney's Office details caseload trends, rising public-records requests and new DV-related charges
Summary
The city attorney's office presented its FY27 budget and casework overview, reporting roughly 4,200 new criminal cases in 2025, growing public-records requests, and the addition of a 2025 offense—'endangering the welfare of children'—that affects domestic‑violence prosecutions; staff also described digital discovery improvements tied to Axon integration.
The city attorney’s office reviewed its FY27 budget and workload trends, reporting heavy criminal caseloads, an increase in public-records requests, and new case types added by the 2025 legislature.
Why it matters: The office’s work affects prosecution timeliness, evidence handling, and the city’s exposure to public-records workload. Council members pressed the office about staffing, the potential need for outside counsel, and how digital discovery changes may shift workload.
City Attorney staff said the office handled nearly 4,200 new criminal cases in 2025 and noted that, at current pace, the office could open roughly 4,300 cases by year-end. The office described a roughly 83% filing rate for non‑domestic‑violence referrals and noted domestic‑violence case dynamics are more complicated; the office also flagged that the 2025 statutory offense 'endangering the welfare of children' has begun to appear as a supplemental charge in partner/family assault matters.
Jessica McKee of the city attorney’s office advised council on state-law compliance questions during the Billings 2045 discussion and later emphasized there is not an explicit statutory penalty for failing to adopt the state-required ordinances; her guidance was procedural and legal rather than prescriptive.
On operations, Sam (chief deputy) told council the department is integrating Axon evidence systems to speed discovery: "We are currently working on reforming our digital discovery process, and working actively on integration with the new implementation of Axon at the Billings Police Department," Sam said, describing how evidence uploads will increasingly appear as links inside the office’s case system and reduce delays associated with physical media delivery.
Council members requested a future report detailing whether Axon and other technology changes reduce staffing burdens in the attorney’s office and whether public-records request volumes are becoming more manageable.
What’s next: Staff will continue to monitor PRR demand, bring forward staffing recommendations if needed, and report back on the effect of Axon integration and discovery workflow changes.
