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What is causing turmoil in the Athens DA office?

Embattled Athens DA Deborah Gonzalez says salaries are to blame for issues in her office. The data shows it's more complicated than that.

ATLANTA — Embattled Athens District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez now finds herself on both sides of the courtroom.

The top prosecutor for the Western Judicial Circuit is the defendant in a recently filed civil lawsuit, accusing her of failing to do her job properly.

Gonzalez has previously blamed staffing issues in her office on low salaries. However, 11Alive Investigates found districts around Athens and Oconee counties that aren’t plagued by staffing issues despite offering prosecutors similar salaries.

11Alive also tracked the salaries of 34 attorneys that left since Gonzalez took office. Of those that stayed in public service, a handful took a pay cut when they left. Some told 11Alive they left the office without another job lined up.

11Alive obtained copies of resignation letters, which for the most part, do not hint at any problems within the office. But in private conversations throughout our investigation, several have expressed concerns. 

“I left the office because of the toxic environment there and unfortunately the belief that I could not do my full duty and hold up my oath,” said Alex Cidado, a former Athens assistant district attorney. He served under Gonzalez and agreed to speak openly.

Salaries

Gonzalez spoke with 11Alive investigator Rebecca Lindstrom before the lawsuit was filed. 

There should be 17 attorneys roaming the halls of the Western judicial circuit. When Gonzalez sat down for an interview, there were five. In the week since, 11Alive has learned at least one more ADA has resigned.

Gonzalez blamed issues in the office on prosecutors leaving the district for more lucrative jobs and an increasing caseload for those who remain, resulting in a revolving door of staff changes. Some staff, she said, left because they could no longer work remotely.

According to the county's online job posting, the starting salary at the Athens DA's office is just over $57,000, with the potential for a $6,000 signing bonus.

“It starts with the money and then it led to the stress of having too many cases to deal with when you are one of the few left behind,” Gonzalez said.

11Alive Investigates filed open record requests with multiple judicial circuits across the state and found some counties do have a higher base pay than Clarke and Oconee counties. Macon-Bibb County, a district of similar size, starts its base pay about $4,000 higher.

However, 11Alive also found counties around Athens that pay the same and don’t have a high level of vacancies.

In the Alcovy Judicial Circuit, which covers neighboring Walton and Newton counties, there are only two vacant positions out of 25 fully-funded jobs. The starting salary there is just over $56,000.

There are also high-paying prosecutor jobs in Athens that are vacant. Every judicial district has attorneys supported by the state, and those salaries are often much higher. 11Alive confirmed that Gonzalez has four unfilled state positions with salaries that could reach $117,000 for highly qualified candidates.

‘I wouldn’t say it’s the management style’

The district attorney rejected claims that her management style and approach to the job may have played a role in the office’s struggles. 

Gonzalez, a Democrat who won the job in 2020 after stylizing herself as a progressive prosecutor who wouldn’t try certain minor drug cases, drew the ire of conservative residents in the two counties as well as Republican politicians at the state and local level for her actions.

Among the most prominent critics are State Rep. Houston Gaines, an Athens Republican, and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

In December 2022, Kemp tweeted that “far-left local prosecutors” were making their communities less safe after charges against a man accused of committing sex crimes were dismissed because Gonzalez’s office didn’t bring the man to trial in a timely manner.

The state house and senate on Monday passed SB 92, a bill that would create a commission with the power to remove or discipline solicitors-general and district attorneys. The legislation now awaits Kemp's signature. The governor has expressed support for the concept.

Supportive GOP lawmakers like Gaines have cited Gonzalez as a motivator for the commission. Gaines sponsored legislation similar to SB 92 in the state house.

In her previous interview with 11Alive, Gonzalez said she felt legislation was targeting her, calling the effort a partisan, dangerous effort to reduce democracy. 

She also admitted inexperience and turnover had caused procedural mistakes in some cases that let potentially dangerous suspects go free.

“No, I would not say that it’s the management style,” she said. “What I would say is we had a perfect storm. People left because they were offered more money. The ones who stayed were left with higher caseloads that led to stress and they were able to get other positions.”

Cidado, a former Athens assistant district attorney, agreed with portions of Gonzalez’s comments.

“I would never want to touch that office due to the volatility, the immense caseload,” he said.

However, Cidado rejected claims that money is to blame for the office’s revolving door. The former Athens prosecutor is now in private practice. He worked in the circuit when Gonzalez took over the office. 

Cidado says he re-interviewed for his job but realized shortly after he didn’t feel supported. He left three months later.

He said he was especially troubled when Gonzalez sat down to review every prosecutor’s existing caseload and instructed him to dismiss several. He felt the cases had merit and should still be prosecuted. 

Several experienced attorneys had already left, and he said he worried that he didn’t have enough experience at the time to lead the prosecution on some other cases he was assigned.

“It’s not about money and shame on her for saying this,” he added.

At Gonzalez’s urging, the Athens-Clarke County Commission unanimously approved a $50,000 market study to look at attorney salaries within county government and the DA’s office. The report, conducted by a third-party vendor, is due by the end of April.

The lawsuit

As part of the civil lawsuit, Gonzalez was originally subpoenaed to appear for a deposition on Saturday. However, her attorneys requested more time to prepare.

11Alive Investigates has confirmed Georgia’s Prosecuting Attorney Council has granted Gonzalez up to $75,000 to hire outside counsel for the case.

Kevin Epps, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit, has already subpoenaed all the circuit’s Superior Court judges to testify at the hearing, according to court records. Epps has also subpoenaed Gonzalez’s office manager and told 11Alive he plans to call several former attorneys in her office to testify. 

The hearing, originally scheduled for April 6th, was pushed to May 8th.

The superior court judges have recused themselves from the proceedings. The lawsuit will be heard by David Emerson, the senior judge of the Superior Courts of Georgia.

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