Document text
District attorney wants another term Mark Huddleston has announced he will seek a third term as Jackson County district attorney. Huddleston, 49, has been district attorney since 1992, when he was appointed to succeed his boss Bill Juba, who died. He began as a deputy district attorney in 1980 and became chief deputy district attorney in 1988. He was elected in his own right in 1992 and 1996. The nonpartisan position is on the May 16 primary ballot. If he's re-elected, Huddleston said, his office will continue to take a tough stance toward prosecution of child abuse, domestic violence and other violent crimes. "We prosecute everything," he said. "But I think we have worked particularly hard in the areas of child abuse and domestic violence." His office has upgraded its computer system, but Huddleston said he would like to institute a computerized case management system that provides for sharing with local and state agencies and easier access to data. Huddleston said the 13 deputies under his supervision in the criminal division carry some of the highest caseloads among Oregon counties. Deputies prosecute up to 600 misdemeanor cases or 250 to 300 felonies annually. Deputies assigned to prosecute felonies handle fewer such cases because they are usually more time-consuming. He said violent crimes such as assault, robbery and homicide have decreased since his first full year in office in 1993. During his second term Huddleston expanded the office's domestic violence response team and reorganized office procedures to work with the consolidated district and circuit courts as they merged in January 1998. He is a member and past chairman of the Jackson County Public Safety Coordinating Council, the advisory council for the Jackson County Narcotic Enforcement Team, and the board of directors of the Children's Advocacy Center. He was a member of the Access to Justice for All Committee named in 1997 by Wallace Carson, Oregon Supreme Court chief justice. Though the county pays for part of the salary and most of the staff and office expenses, the district attorney is a state officer. Election filings are handled by the secretary of state in Salem. Huddleston said among his endorsers are the Oregon State Police Officers Association, Jackson County Sheriff Bob Kennedy and four retired police chiefs or captains -- Medford chief Ray Shipley, Ashland chief Vic Lively, Central Point chief Laddie Hancock, and OSP Capt. Del Hussey. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA