Williamson County DA says more prosecutors needed to address pandemic backlog, growing number of felony cases

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The Williamson County District Attorney says he's asked county leaders for $275,000 to keep several prosecutors on full-time. He says they're crucial to addressing a backlog of criminal cases and a caseload that's also growing in severity.

Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick said county commissioners were given a proposal earlier this month that outlined why his office should be given funds needed to retain 3 prosecutor roles.

He said those attorneys were hired during the pandemic, their salaries paid for via the America Rescue Plan Act. The attorneys helping to prepare cases put on pause by the pandemic to be ready for trial once restrictions eased.

"For me, this is an easy decision, it's a no brainer, I have three fantastic lawyers already in those positions. It's allowed us to put what we call a Special Victims Unit prosecutor into each court. And what they handle mostly are child abuse cases," Dick said.

Dick said the initial grant for those jobs will run out at the end of the year, this new request is asking commissioners to allocate the funds needed to keep those prosecutors on permanently.

Along with these roles, Dick said his office submitted a new request last week asking commissioners to consider funds needed to hire one prosecutor for fentanyl cases, one prosecutor for public integrity and election integrity issues, a trial investigator and a Chief of Staff for administrative issues.

Dick said the county's felony case load has started to climb back up to pre-pandemic levels with 5,192 cases last year. There were 5,939 felony cases in 2019.

He said many of the cases prosecutors see nowadays tend to include some type of violent crime.

According to a list of provided to the commissioner's court, as of January 2024 the DA's office was investigating 43 cases that involved a fatality.

"We've seen a lot more vicious crime, we've seen a lot more violent crime. With the use of technology, and body cams, and dash cams, and everything else, the volume of evidence is really staggering. And it's hard for anyone to go through," Dick said.

Commissioners are considering these requests now, Dick said he should know if they will be fulfilled by the end of budget season this fall.