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District attorney warns new DOC admissions will strain county prosecutors, asks counties to fund one shared assistant DA
Summary
Chilton County's district attorney said admissions from Department of Corrections facilities already consume a disproportionate share of prosecutorial time and that a planned "mega prison" will push resources past capacity; he asked the commission to contribute about $38,000 to fund a 0.333‑FTE assistant district attorney to handle DOC cases.
District Attorney CJ, who represents the 19th Circuit, told the commission the office handles roughly 35,000 cases a year and about 2,000 felonies — including murder, robbery and human trafficking — that require the most time and court resources. He said cases that originate from the Department of Corrections already occupy far more staff time than their share of case counts and warned that a new, expanded DOC facility will make the imbalance worse.
"The Department of Corrections makes up 10 percent of the cases we prosecute y'all," CJ said. He urged the commission to plan for the long term, noting planned DOC admissions could push that share above 50 percent for Elmore County in 2027 and require rotating prosecutors from Autauga and Chilton to Elmore to staff trials and grand juries.
CJ said his internal analysis shows the office needs additional assistant district attorneys to preserve timely prosecutions and to avoid pulling staff off local dockets. "That request comes out to be $38,000 is what that amounts to," he told commissioners, describing a proposal in which each of three counties would fund a 0.333 share of one assistant DA dedicated to DOC cases.
Why it matters: CJ said death investigations and in‑custody incidents take the most time and cannot be abbreviated without risking improper outcomes. He noted that judges and expanded courtrooms will not by themselves solve the staffing shortfall because DOC cases require investigators and attorneys to travel and to manage lengthy grand jury and trial schedules.
What happens next: CJ asked commissioners for support and said he has discussed the idea with the other two county commissions and the state legislators. Commissioners asked questions about victim services, jury weeks and how requests would appear on a future action agenda; no formal vote was taken during the work session.
