Editorial

District attorney plan seems to make sense

The difference between a district attorney and a prosecuting attorney has to do with geography. Missouri's 115 county prosecutors are responsible for filing charges and prosecuting alleged criminals only in the counties they serve. District attorneys, on the other hand, have the same responsibilities for an area not defined by county borders but by the area within a judicial circuit.

In the Cape Girardeau area, the 32nd Judicial Circuit includes all of Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry counties. Each county has a prosecutor. Under legislation currently proposed in the Missouri Legislature, county commissions would be given the option of having a district attorney, provided more than one county in each circuit or all of the circuit agreed.

Currently, prosecuting attorneys and members of their staffs, which might include assistant prosecutors as well as secretarial help and investigators, are funded by each individual county. Under the proposed changes, the district attorney would be a state employee, with half the district attorney's salary eventually funded by the state.

District attorneys also would get a sizable increase in pay under this plan. They would receive the same salary as circuit court judges, which is currently $108,000 a year.

There are several problems which the legislation is attempting to address. One is the fact 11 rural counties -- out of 114 counties total in the state -- had no candidates for prosecuting attorney as recently as 1994. When no one runs for the office, the governor appoints a prosecutor.

And the job of prosecuting attorney is part-time for many of those who hold the office. In such situations, the prosecutor also may be trying to run a private civil law practice. The attention of such prosecutors is split between filing criminal cases -- as many as 900 a year -- while handling civil lawsuits for private clients.

There appear to be several advantages outlined in the proposed legislation: better handling of criminal cases across the state, the county-by-county option of having a district attorney, state funding for the increased salaries.

Any concerns about the proposal are likely to be on the local level over issues such as the local control each county's voters and taxpayers currently have over who holds the prosecutor's position.

With all the options about participating in this proposal, there seems to be little to oppose and a considerable amount of good that could come from it throughout Missouri. If fully implemented, there would be 45 district attorneys in the state instead of 115 prosecuting attorneys.

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