By Erleigh Wiley
TDCAA Board President & Criminal District Attorney in Kaufman County
TDCAA membership answered the call and responded to our survey. Thank you! The survey asked a few open-ended questions to gauge how those in TDCAA’s service group (that is, prosecutor office staff) feel about the association’s direction and priorities for the new executive director. The answers are going to be helpful in the selection of that new person, but they also provided some interesting feedback about the work of the association. Some of the areas that survey responses focused on were online training, regional meetings, recruitment of new prosecutors, and the association’s involvement in legislative activities.
I am happy to report that the input we received was generally positive. Members made plenty of suggestions for improvement and services, but the general tenor of the remarks was, “We want more of a good thing.” That is reassuring, but for a successful organization, that can also be a challenge because we must remember that any organization can do 10 things well or 100 things poorly.
So, what is the core mission of TDCAA? Its Mission Statement focuses on three areas: “To promote excellence in prosecution and government civil representation in the State of Texas, by providing 1) education and 2) technical assistance to prosecutors and their staffs, by providing educational and technical assistance to the law enforcement community, and by serving as a 3) legislative resource in criminal law and government representation matters” (emphasis added).
Education
In that vein, the survey responses encouraged TDCAA and the new executive director to explore additional training in the form of virtual lunch-and-learn sessions or podcasts, plus continued and additional training in civil law, juvenile law, CPS representation, and capital murder. The good news is that with TDCAA’s expanded emphasis on distance and online education, we will see more and more training that meets our members’ needs.
Remote training can never be replaced by the engagement of in-person training, but since COVID, we have learned the efficiency and flexibility of online training. Joe Hooker is now on TDCAA staff as the assistant training director, and his job duties include producing online training, which means more content for our membership. Keep a lookout for more online training available on the TDCAA website and read Joe’s latest column on page 8 regarding two new ethics videos soon to come online.
In the past—and revived in recent years—TDCAA Board members have been hosting regional meetings. Some of TDCAA’s eight regions hold regular Zoom meetings that are initiated by their regional directors, but additional in-person regional meetings started back in 2023. Last year, I attended one of them in Amarillo, and it was a blast! Not only did we have a great meeting, but it was also fun to experience Amarillo’s nightlife. (Yes, Amarillo has a fun nightlife.) Regional meetings will return this fall, so check the TDCAA website and legislative emails for more information as the dates get closer.
Technical assistance
When it comes to technical assistance, one thing everyone was unified on was that the TDCAA publications team does a great job of getting you the written resources you need and use every day. And TDCAA now has six seasoned attorneys on staff to answer legal questions or connect you to the person who has your answer.
Another hot topic was the difficulties in recruiting prosecutors and staff into our profession, which is a new reality that county and district attorney offices throughout the state have struggled with. For the first time in my career as the district attorney, our office had vacancies we couldn’t fill. The need to hire attorneys, investigators, and support staff who want to work in law enforcement is a real need. Years ago, TDCAA initiated a pilot program where staff attended job fairs at law schools and reported back to the membership with resumes from interested candidates. Back then, not much happened with the efforts, perhaps because the vacancy problems weren’t as acute. From the survey responses, it appears there may be more interest in offices working together on this subject. If you are interested in serving on a recruitment committee to look at this issue, please let me know. My email is [email protected].
Legislative resources
Additionally, several responses noted our association’s involvement (or lack of involvement) in political campaigns and legislative activities. I know from my experience that TDCAA does not take positions (for or against) on particular bills, nor does its staff testify on behalf of all prosecutors, but I didn’t fully understand why.
The answer regarding TDCAA’s legislative resource mission is a little longer, because more than one survey response urged TDCAA and the new executive director to speak for prosecutors and take positions at the capitol that the respondents favor. There is a good reason why that has not happened in the past and why that type of advocacy is not TDCAA’s mission.
TDCAA was incorporated in 1971 as a nonprofit service organization that supports more than 300 independent elected officials and their staffs. The mission of TDCAA staff is to serve these elected officials and help give them their voice. That approach comes directly from our Association bylaws, which state in relevant part that “no officer, director, or agent of the Association shall, in their capacity as such, endorse or promote any political candidate, nor shall the association funds be spent for such purpose.” The bylaws go on to provide that “nothing herein shall prevent political activity by any person in their individual capacity,” such as taking positions on legislation or endorsing or promoting those positions. To speak candidly, I’ll say that our elected legislators in Austin don’t care so much what a nonprofit employee says as much as they care what their local elected district or county attorney thinks. Therefore, while TDCAA can help you be an effective advocate in Austin for your preferred policies, it cannot carry that water for you.
In addition, it would be impossible for the association, as a service organization with so many members, to truly speak with one voice. A great example of why that doesn’t work happened back in 2005: When the legislature considered adding life without parole as an alternative in capital murder cases, the Tarrant County CDA’s Office supported the measure and helped write the bill—and the then-Harris County DA appeared in person to oppose it. The lesson: Our profession can include lots of differing opinions on the nature of the law, and we should never allow those opinions to distract us from the duty—and the mission of TDCAA—to train prosecutor office staff to be the best they can be when they represent the State in criminal or civil court. I believe our position has served our organization well.
A new executive director
Finally, an update on the executive director’s selection. After the surveys were completed, the application process began. The opening and qualifications were posted on several websites, including those of TDCAA, the National District Attorneys Association, and the State Bar. The application period closed May 1, and starting in June, the selection committee will begin the interview process and a finalist will be selected. The plan is to announce the new Executive Director by TDCAA’s Annual Conference in September.
I’m looking forward to the continued success of our organization by implementing your suggestions and the hard work of our dedicated TDCAA staff.