Officials: Funding plan should help grease the wheels of justice
Wednesday, May 31st, 2006
By Chris Fitzsimon
Barry Smith
FREEDOM RALEIGH BURE
Freedom Raleigh Bureau
RALEIGH — Judicial officials, buoyed by a boost in the budget passed by the state Senate, believe that new employees and technology will help make the justice system work more smoothly in the state.
New assistant district attorneys, district court judges and technology could help make caseloads more manageable and decrease the time needed to dispose of a case.
“It’s not going to be a cure-all, but it’s definitely going to help us,” said Branny Vickery, the district attorney in the 8th Prosecutorial District, which includes Lenoir, Greene and Wayne counties. Vickery is also president of the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys.
Judicial officials also worry that if they get more assistant prosecuting positions, they’ll be able to recruit and retain lawyers to fill them.
“It doesn’t even begin addressing that issue,” Vickery said. “We definitely will be coming back next year on that issue.”
Starting assistant district attorneys and assistant public defenders in North Carolina make $32,885 per year, which is about $8,000 less that starting salaries for a lot of other attorney positions, Gov. Mike Easley said during a recent press conference announcing support for additional moneys going to the justice system.
The district attorneys’ association points out on its Web page that beginning assistant district attorneys fall even further below other starting attorneys on the state pay scale. For example, an “Attorney I” in the state’s Department of Justice makes $47,232 a year. An Attorney I position makes $48.621 a year in the Department of Administration, $50,034 in the Secretary of State’s office and $53,139 a year in the Administrative Office of the Courts. (more…)
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