HOWARD COUNTY — Howard County’s elected prosecutor Mark McCann is frustrated.
His office has 12 attorneys serving a population of more than 83,000.
“I always say bend but don't break, but it's almost at a breakage point,” said McCann. “I'm concerned about public safety."
The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council (IPAC) says Howard County should have 23 attorneys to be adequately staffed for its workload.
Howard County has 4,000 criminal filings a year and McCann says his full-time deputy prosecutors typically handle 300 criminal cases at a time.
Plus, because Howard County does not have a victim advocate, deputy prosecutors are tasked with talking to crime victims.
McCann says his office needs to do better.
“There’s not enough communication with victims and support, emotionally, providing information is a big thing, just talking through the process with them,” said McCann.
McCann said the attorney shortage creates a backlog of work especially if they have staff out for weeks working on a jury trial.
“During that time we are getting warrant requests to review case files,” said McCann. “Those are going to sit for another week or two.”
The lack of deputy prosecutors also impacts which crimes they can charge a suspect with.
“It does come into play in your charging decision,” said McCann.
House Bill 1006 aims to address the state’s attorney shortage by creating a public prosecution fund, which would allow counties to get reimbursed up to 50% for salary and benefits paid to deputy prosecutors.
The measure would cost the state approximately $19.5 million a year, beginning in 2026.
“This will help us retain prosecutors,” the bill’s author, Rep. Chris Jeter, said at the Courts and Criminal Code legislative committee on February 5. “As you know, we’ve got a lawyer shortage. Lawyers can make more money going to other state agencies like DCS.”
If it passes, McCann says he would be able to hire nine attorneys.
“I would reallocate our office more in line with the federal system and make it more area-specific,” said McCann.
He would assign attorneys to specialties like sex crimes, crimes against children and property crimes.
“That would help in our success and I think it would be a great benefit to the citizens of our county,” said McCann.
Starting in 2023, WRTV Investigates began digging into the state’s attorney shortage and its impact on the criminal justice system.
PREVIOUS | Attorney Shortage
Only 11% of Indiana counties have adequate staffing to meet their workload.
IPAC says Indiana needs 440 prosecutors to be adequately staffed.
Courtney Curtis, IPAC Assistant Executive Director, testified to lawmakers on February 5 in support of HB1006.
“House Bill 1006 would allow us to stop the bleed,” said Curtis. “We are losing higher-end, experienced prosecutors to make more money elsewhere and then we aren’t getting those law school applicants to get fresh blood at the bottom"
In 2017, Indiana had five law schools:
- IU McKinney in Indianapolis
- IU Maurer in Bloomington
- Notre Dame in South Bend
- Valparaiso University in Valparaiso
- Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne
In 2017, 756 students graduated from Indiana law schools. Four years later, that number dropped to 599.
Indiana Tech closed its law school in June 2017.
Valparaiso closed in 2020, which according to a report from the Indiana Public Defender Commission, eliminated a law school that trained 18% of the attorneys practicing in Indiana.
Meanwhile, 26 Indiana counties have job openings listed on the IPAC website.
The median salary for a deputy prosecutor in Indiana is $87,000.
Howard County full-time deputy prosecutors make more than that— $110,890.
"I had to scratch and claw to get to that,” said McCann. “I’m proud of that in that it has retained lawyers. It saves costs on retraining.”
McCann said many deputy prosecutors are “hit and skip,” meaning they get their experience and then go into private defense work and make more money.
He hopes to also hire additional paralegals and support staff.
House Bill 1006 has already passed the House and is now headed to the Senate.
“This needs to be done,” said McCann.
The legislation would also increase reimbursements for public defenders from 40% to 50% for counties that belong to the Commission on Court-Appointed Attorneys.
Another bill, House Bill 1049, would create a state fund to provide scholarships to law students who commit to working as a deputy prosecutor or public defender in Indiana for at least five years.
Eligible students could receive $20,000 a year for three years — a maximum scholarship of $60,000 per student.
Rep. Greg Steuerwald, R-Danville, said he filed the bill after serving on a state panel aimed at fixing the growing attorney shortage.
HB 1049 also passed out of the House and is now headed to the Senate.
