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The dominoes continue to fall with the loss of funding, as Navajo County Attorney Brad Carlyon told the Navajo County Board of Supervisors that the county prosecutor’s office was in crisis at the meeting on Feb. 26.
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With the recent loss of Deputy County Attorney Justin Gettler as of Feb. 24, the case loads have increased from 80-90 open active felony cases per attorney to 90-100 cases per attorney among the remaining eight trial attorneys. Discouragement remains high for Carlyon as he is unable to find attorneys to fill the vacancies.
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“The state average for felony case loads is 50 without misdemeanors,” said Carlyon. “Our starting salary for a prosecutor is $54,000, which is nearly 20 percent less than Greenlee County that pays $64,000. Our salary scale has not moved since 2009, until the 2.5 percent salary increase that all the county employees received.”
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Carlyon continued, “I can’t fill my vacancies; I can’t get anyone to come when they learn about the salary either online or in the interview. The response is no thanks. When they (an interviewee) hear about the work load and salary, they can’t get out of my office fast enough.”
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Part of the problem seems to be in salary disparity within the county, as Carlyon pointed out that a deputy public defender with two years criminal experience makes more than prosecutors with nine years of criminal experience; while a deputy legal defender with one and half years of criminal experience makes more than a prosecutor with six years of criminal experience. Even the window clerk at the Superior Court gets more than a legal assistant in the prosecutor’s office and according to Carlyon, “doesn’t work as hard.”
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With criminal defense contracts going out for $80,000, plus the attorney’s ability to take on private pay clients, there is no way the prosecutor’s office can even compete within the county.
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In his resignation letter, former Deputy County Attorney Justin Gettler noted that he had accepted a position with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. “The decision was difficult, because I enjoy working with your office,” wrote Gettler. “However, better pay and routine pay increases were just too enticing.”
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Looking forward, Carlyon said, “We will have to cancel the misdemeanor contracts, we cannot continue to fulfill that. We will have to discontinue drug court and that is a great program, our success rate is high. Nearly 80 percent who graduate don’t come back into the system for two years.”
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Carlyon’s list continued with the discontinuance of the veteran’s court and not charging county misdemeanors, which would include DUI and domestic violence crimes. “Victims will not be getting justice and we will not be giving services to those we might be able to help get out of the system.”
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“Even passing the jail district tax doesn’t avert the crises occurring in the criminal justice system,” continued Carlyon. “I can’t replace anyone that leaves. Overwhelming caseloads are slowly burning out the attorneys who remain. When they leave, it just grows worse. What is needed are better salaries for prosecutors, public defenders and law enforcement as well as additional prosecutors and public defenders to reduce the case loads.”
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“These prosecutors are putting in super human hours to get justice for the community,” Carlyon ended. “I tell my prosecutors to focus on the really serious cases; the focus needs to remain to those who are a danger to our communities.”
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