By Jef Rietsma
Journal Correspondent
St. Joseph County officials plan to discuss whether to approve a staffing request for the prosecutor’s office.
The matter was raised Wednesday at the executive committee meeting, when commissioners heard a grim report from prosecutor David Marvin. He said the current backlog, along with a projected need for an additional attorney on-staff justifies the request.
Marvin offered some eye-popping numbers concerning circuit court felony cases, based on figures provided to him from judge Paul Stutesman.
“Circuit court felony cases are the big crimes that happen here – not that the little crimes don’t matter – and (Stutesman) said in a year there are 300 or more felonies that go through in a year,” Marvin said. “As of January this year, there are 600… that kind of tells you a number of things.”