CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A shortage of prosecutors in Nueces County leaves a ripple effect across the community and in the courtroom.
“It’s been a part of this office's history for a long time,” Nueces County District Attorney James Granberry said.
Granberry said their department is 12 to 14 lawyers short at the moment, but the office has been feeling the shortage more so recently.
“We’ve tried two murder cases in the last couple weeks. Right now we have 82 murder cases pending trial,” Granberry said.
He said he’s noticed a pattern with the turnover of attorneys that just might be the reasoning behind the shortage.
“People come here, get a few trials under their belt, looks like they’re going to blend in well, then someone with a bigger pocketbook comes along and hires them away,” Granberry said.
The reason, Granberry told KRIS 6 News, that attorneys come and go comes down to salary.
“If we want a good, safe community, we have to pay for it. If that means a tax increase, property taxes, wherever the taxes come from, that may be what we’re left with,” Granberry said.
He said the office doesn’t have the experienced lawyers right now to bring all families justice. He said there are many serious cases that need to be handled professionally by high-quality people.
“What I need is salary. I need money to pay these young lawyers enough. We live in the most beautiful city in the state of Texas and I need to make it possible for them to make this their forever home,” Granberry said.
Prosecutors handle all types of trials.
“We handle Class B misdemeanors like a DWI to capital murder which involves the death penalty,” Granberry said.
Prosecutors see a lot and hear a lot that can be mentally or emotionally taxing, making the job even more difficult, which Granberry said is all the more reason to compensate them through higher pay.
He said the shortage of prosecutors has an effect on a few things, like the crime-doers themselves.
“There are often times people get re-arrested for new crimes,” Granberry said.
The shortage can also affect the trial itself, if too much time passes by.
“Anytime there's a delay, witnesses will die, move, forget,” Granberry said.
To explain just how important the DA’s office is, the DA’s office is where every arrest, no matter how big or small, ultimately winds up.
“The police can make all the arrests in the world, but if you don’t have prosecutors moving the cases through the system, then justice is not served,” Granberry said.
Granberry asked for the community’s support, as well as County Commissioners' support for more funding to keep fresh, ambitious and young lawyers in our backyard for years to come.
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