Attorney General Stumbo Releases Report of Blue Ribbon Commission on Criminal Prosecution

FRANKFORT KY (February 18, 2005) - Attorney General Greg Stumbo today released the 2004-2005 Blue Ribbon Commission Report on Criminal Prosecution which unveils the legal, fiscal and general challenges facing prosecutors across the Commonwealth. The Blue Ribbon Commission, formed last summer to study such issues, sent surveys to all Kentucky prosecutors. The responses were compiled and summarized in the Report.

The Commission found that prosecutors are facing a huge increase in their caseloads due in large part to the increase in drug crime across the state. Prosecutors are handling over 10,000 more criminal cases in circuit court than they did in 1996. However, even though there has been a substantial increase in caseloads, there has been no corresponding increase in the resources provided to prosecutors.

The Commission found that low starting salaries are hindering the ability to attract new prosecutors into the profession and making it difficult to retain career prosecutors because of the inability to pay them what they are worth. This lack of resources has led to an increased turnover in prosecutorial offices across the state.

“I strongly believe that it is time to ensure that our prosecutors have the financial resources needed to keep our communities safe. Their work is too difficult and too important to suffer from a lack of financial support,” Stumbo said. The Commission Report recommends that the General Assembly explore available means to provide additional resources to prosecutors in order to provide a stable workforce for the Unified Prosecutorial System.

The Attorney General’s 2004-2005 Blue Ribbon Commission Report on Criminal Prosecution is available online; click here.