Some North Dakota counties have “Help Wanted” signs out for assistant states’ attorneys.
Some of these positions have gone unfilled for some time.
"For the last couple of years, we're seeing a lot of burnout, especially in the western counties," said North Dakota Association of Counties legal counsel Aaron Birst.
For example, Burleigh County is down six assistant states' attorneys, and Ward County has five openings.
"It's not necessarily a money thing," Birst said. "It's caseload -- they're handling a lot of cases, and it's stressful. A lot of folks just can't keep up that pace. So they look for other opportunities."
Birst said one potential solution is for states’ attorneys to work with law schools, to try to attract talent, with the goal of making prosecution a career choice.
"Of course, money is a part of it," Birst said. "But there are other things -- you can take a vacation, you can do some things other people get to do. And I think that starts when you develop those new lawyers right out of the chute."
Birst said the goal is to get more people choosing law as a profession.
"We're going to look at doing some career days and those kinds of things," Birst said. We're trying to get people fired up to go into prosecution, as well as the defense network."
