In the month of July, the Clarke County Attorney’s Office prosecuted 1 jury trial. This trial was argued entirely by Assistant Warren County Attorney, Alex Crabb, because he assumed the case, an extremely vicious domestic assault, during the former administration and he wanted to see it through for the victim. His dedication and service to Clarke County has been much appreciated.
In terms of July’s workload, the Office attended several depositions. 4 Felony cases came in and 7 were disposed. Disposed means resolved and, for example, the Office negotiated no less than 5 felony guilty pleas. Felony cases are the most serious of criminal cases. The State’s case tracking system reflects total of 78 pending felony cases for Clarke County (down from 81).
Indictable misdemeanors are misdemeanor crimes that are punishable by more than a year but no more than two years of incarceration. Misdemeanor crimes are categorized as Aggravated, Serious, and Simple. Aggravated Misdemeanors are the most serious misdemeanors and can be punished by up to two years in prison. Serious Misdemeanor crimes are punishable by up to one year in the County Jail. Simple Misdemeanor crimes are punishable by up to 30 days in the county jail. As you can imagine, fines increase with the severity of the crime.
In July, 25 indictable Misdemeanors came in and only 14 were disposed. The State’s case tracking system reflects that the pending number increased to 210 cases from 198 cases.
In July, 367 Simple Misdemeanors came in, a dramatic increase from last month, and 366 were disposed. The State’s case tracking system reflects that the number of pending Simple Misdemeanors now rests at 564.
In July, the Clarke County Attorney’s Office Juvenile Case Load included 9 new Child in Need of Assistance (CINA) cases with only 1 disposed. The State’s case tracking system reflects an increase from 68 to 71 CINA cases.
Everyone comes to a point in life where reality gets to be more than is bearable. Many of us have family and friends who support us through these challenges, but not everyone has such good fortune. When parents are so overcome by the challenges of life that they are unable to provide the necessities to their children and don’t have the support so many of us have, the State is obligated to step in to protect the children. This is done by providing services and other assistance to the family through a CINA case. The services are intended to get the family back on track and set them up for success. In each case, the intent is to serve the best interest of the child. All CINAs begin with the goal of the child staying in or returning to the family home. Children are removed only when there is a significant risk of serious harm to the child, and every reasonable effort is made to return the child to the home as soon as the situation is resolved. In some instances, the parents are so overwhelmed that no amount of time or service will help them make the home a safe place for the children, and in these rare cases the children are placed with foster or adoptive families.
In July, 1 Juvenile Delinquency case came in and 2 were disposed. The State’s case tracking system reflect a decrease from 16 to 15 Juvenile Delinquency cases. The combined number of juvenile cases that came in July is 10 and 3 were disposed with total juvenile number resting at 91 cases.
