Get to Know DCDAO: District Court Team
Get to Know DCDAO is an occasional series about the people who make up the Durham County District Attorney’s Office. This installment focuses on the Durham DA’s Office District Court Team.
Assistant District Attorney Monica Burnette describes Durham’s District Courts as “the pulse of the courthouse.” Just about every criminal case courses through District Court at some point, whether a misdemeanor property crime, or a felony violent crime that will ultimately be resolved in Superior Court.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact how local courts operate, District Attorney Satana Deberry created a new team in the office dedicated to making sure District Court cases are handled effectively. The District Court Team includes Lead ADA Burnette, ADAs Ahmed Adam, Andrew House and Michael Wilcox and Legal Assistants John Brown and Tamika Broadway.
This post introduces the District Court Team and describes how they are adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Upon taking office in 2019, DA Deberry divided the DA’s Office into teams so that staff can specialize in certain types of cases and form working relationships with investigators, victim advocates, and other important partners. Those teams include Administration, Homicide & Violent Crimes, Special Victims Unit, Juvenile, Drug & Property Crimes, and Traffic. In October, DA Deberry reassigned staff who worked largely on District Court matters to a new District Court Team.
“In North Carolina courts, we often treat District Court as a training ground for new prosecutors. Everyone wants to be in Superior Court with the most serious cases, but District Court is often where the most persistent and consistent problems in our community show up first,” said Deberry. “Additionally, because of the volume and rapid pace of cases, it can be a disorienting and disillusioning experience for victims. After much prodding from inside and outside the office and the pressures of the pandemic, it became clear to me that we needed to devote more experience, time and training to District Court. Victims deserve a more informed response and everyone deserves a more efficient and methodical approach.”
The District Court Team covers first appearances for people in detention; Courtroom 4D, which handles non-traffic misdemeanors as well as some proceedings in felony matters; 5A, where criminal domestic violence cases are addressed; and specialty diversion courts for cases involving mental illness and substance use.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Courtroom 4D could see as many as 180 cases per day, most commonly trespassing, shoplifting, assault, and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. Courtroom 5A typically handled about thirty domestic violence cases in a day. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has required Durham’s courts to operate with smaller courtroom capacities and smaller daily dockets.
Now, in addition to the regular duties of representing the State, District Court staff are on the frontlines of helping to adapt these higher-volume courts in a time of social distancing.
District Court Team staff are assigned to particular courtrooms, but are also cross-trained in other District Courts. This allows prosecutors to rotate between courts and negotiate with defense counsel on different cases as needed. Beginning in 2021, the District Court Team is available each week to negotiate with defense attorneys.
Assistant District Attorney Monica Burnette has worked tirelessly during the pandemic to restructure the Office’s work in Courtroom 4D and set court calendars. Working alongside the Clerk’s Office to set District Court calendars is a new responsibility for DA’s Office staff; Prior to the pandemic, the DA’s Office performed this function for Superior Court cases only.
Each week, Burnette goes through several boxes of files representing cases delayed earlier in the pandemic as well as new ones entering the system. She determines which should be set for 4D in the coming weeks, which should be continued to later dates, and which should be cleared from the docket. This ensures cases that need immediate attention — such as cases involving victims or violence — are prioritized for scheduling, while limiting the public’s unnecessary contact with the criminal justice system during the pandemic.
As District Court Team Lead, ADA Burnette will manage District Court staff and be the main point of contact on District Court matters.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, ADA Burnette has stepped up and provided the leadership and management skills we needed in District Court,” said Deberry. “She has focused on organizing the court calendars so that court time is spent more on doing justice. She also brings a level of experience valuable for newly hired prosecutors.”
Assistant District Attorney Ahmed Adam represents the State in Courtroom 4D, working to keep District Court cases on track towards resolution amid pandemic-related delays. His role includes relaying the status of each case to the court, negotiating with defense attorneys, and communicating with victims to resolve cases efficiently and with the fairest outcome possible. Because many cases handled in 4D are lower-level offenses, these resolutions may seek to hold defendants accountable through means other than criminal convictions — such as restitution, community services, or classes. During the pandemic, Adam has adapted to the options available. For example, instead of requiring defendants to participate in driving safety courses that have been on hold during COVID-19, he’s asked them to write essays about the consequences of criminal convictions as part of their sentence. Adam will also continue to represent the State in Drug Treatment Court.
Legal Assistant John Brown receives the Courtroom 4D calendars each week and calls dozens of people as well as businesses to notify them about upcoming court dates and answer their questions about what to expect in court. These days, that includes often includes what precautions the courts are taking to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Brown explains that courtrooms have limited seating capacities to promote social distancing and lets them know visitors must wear face coverings and have their temperatures checked.
With the creation of the District Court Team, ADA Andrew House represents the State in Courtroom 5A, where criminal domestic violence cases are heard. Previously, House worked in Courtroom 4D and represented the State during in-custody first appearances. Now, in Courtroom 5A, he prosecutes misdemeanor domestic violence charges and coordinates with victim advocates at the Durham Crisis Response Center. In order to best protect survivors of abuse, House receives training on domestic violence along with the Special Victims Unit. SVU staff are trained on topics such as the effect of trauma on the brain, the sexual assault exam process, and the Lethality Assessment Program, a tool used to detect escalating abuse and prevent domestic violence homicides.
Legal Assistant Tamika Broadway supports Courtroom 5A. She creates case files for all criminal domestic violence matters in Durham County and will make initial contact with victims in all domestic violence cases. Keeping victims informed is a duty of the DA’s Office that has become even more important with court dates and court operations changing in light of the pandemic.
ADA Michael Wilcox represents the State as people being held in custody at the Durham County Detention Facility make their first appearances in District Court. Wilcox was sworn in to this role in early November after having worked as an intern in the DA’s Office. First appearance court looks quite different during COVID-19. Instead of holding first appearances in a small courtroom inside the detention facility, defendants now appear by video from the facility, while other parties, including Wilcox, are social distancing in Courtroom 4C. Particularly during the pandemic, this role is critical to making sure only those who pose a danger to the community — and not those who simply cannot afford to pay bond — are detained pretrial. In the future, Wilcox will also represent the State in Mental Health Court.
