Office Overview
The Rockingham County Attorney's Office employees 20 attorneys, 2 investigators, 5 Victim Witness Specialist and 19 support staff. With a staff of 46 people, the office is the largest law firm in Rockingham county. Rockingham County Superior Court is the busiest superior courts in the State. Prosecutors, Victim Advocates, Investigators, Legal Assistants and Support Staff work hand in hand daily to process cases, meet with witnesses and prosecute criminal cases.
New Initiatives
As County Attorney, Pat instituted several important initiatives here in Rockingham County including the Sexual Assault Resource Team (SART) and the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children task force (CSEC). The SART team concentrates on adult sexual assault crimes and how to improve the investigations and prosecutions of these crimes while at the same time improving the services that we provide to the victims of sexual assault.
Similarly, the CSEC task force analyzes human trafficking as it relates to children and formulates multi-disciplinary responses and practices to better serve the victims of human trafficking and to improve the investigations and prosecutions of these horrendous crimes.
Pat instituted an Early Case Resolution program (ECR). Felony cases can take anywhere from 12 months to 18 months to resolve through either a negotiated plea agreement or a jury trial. ECR is designed to identify criminal cases that are likely to result in a fully negotiated disposition early on in the criminal justice process rather than allowing the cases to remain open for long periods of time. The cases in our ECR program have resolved on average - 67 days after the defendant's arrest. This initiative saves tax payers money and allows prosecutors to spend more time on serious and violent offenses such as manslaughter, sexual assault, child abuse, human trafficking and the distribution of drugs.