For Immediate Release

Friday, August 8, 2008
District Attorneys' Association of Georgia Announces New Leaders

The District Attorneys' Association of Georgia has announced new leadership for 2008-2009. Richard Currie, district attorney of the Waycross Judicial Circuit, will lead the association as president. Howard Simms, district attorney for the Macon Judicial Circuit, will serve as vice president; and Ken Mauldin, district attorney for the Western Judicial Circuit, will serve as secretary-treasurer.

Officers of the District Attorneys' Association of Georgia are elected for a one-year term after being nominated by the Executive Committee and voted on by the membership at the annual spring meeting. The term begins and ends at the summer meeting of the Executive Committee.

Appointments were also made for two key committees. Ken Wynne, District Attorney of the Alcovy Judicial Circuit will chair the 2008 Legislative Committee. Other committee members include District Attorneys Tommy Floyd, Stan Gunter, Steve Kelley, Gwen Keyes-Fleming, Ken Mauldin, David McDade, David Miller, Dennis Sanders and Pete Skandalakis. Spencer Lawton, District Attorney for the Eastern Judicial Circuit will chair the 2008 Victim Assistance Committee. Other committee members include District Attorneys Denise Fachini, Paul Howard, Ken Mauldin, Kermit McManus, and David Miller.

The purpose of the District Attorneys’ Association of Georgia is to foster and facilitate communication among the membership concerning matters of common professional interest; to communicate on behalf of the association with other groups, associations, agencies, bodies of persons interested in criminal justice; to promote and further the interests of prosecution within the criminal justice system, particularly, and within the legal system, generally; and to promote the development of and adherence to the highest standards of professional conduct on the part of all lawyers engaged in the practice of criminal law; for all such purposes.

“I have been a criminal prosecutor for 27 years, the last 14 years as district attorney” says President Currie. “To be allowed to serve as president of the greatest organization of attorneys in the State of Georgia is a tremendous honor, one for which I hope and pray I am capable of handling with distinction and dignity. As district attorneys, we truly serve the citizens of this State and we will hopefully continue to be successful in helping to educate and inform the legislature about issues that will better allow prosecutors to protect its citizens. We must also continue our crusade to protect the rights of victims because we are the only statutorily mandated providers of services to victims of crime.”

“I am honored to have been chosen to fill a leadership position among a group of individuals as accomplished as the district attorneys of this State,” says Vice President Simms.

“A public prosecutor’s responsibility in representing the people of this state is to seek justice, to seek the truth and do what’s right in every instance, and not to just obtain a conviction,” says Secretary-Treasurer Mauldin. “If you have done that, then at the end of the day, even though you may be exhausted and feel overwhelmed at times, you can always feel good about what you’ve done and look yourself in the mirror. In that sense, the job of a public prosecutor has a higher calling and responsibility than that of the normal advocate, and it is because of that higher calling that I have chosen to be a prosecuting attorney. It is a hard job, but in my opinion, there is not any other position that is more rewarding and provides such personal satisfaction. I am honored and humbled to have been selected by my peers to a position of leadership in the District Attorneys’ Association of Georgia. I am looking forward to this year of service.”

The transition of leadership took place on Monday, July 28, 2008 at the 48 th Annual Summer Conference held at the Jekyll Island Convention Center on Jekyll Island, Georgia, and sponsored by the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council.

“Mark Twain said, ‘Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.’ This simple maxim allows us to advocate for the citizens of this State because we have but one goal -- to make Georgia a safe and secure place to live, work, play and raise children. I look forward to serving as president of the association and hope that we continue to have success in our endeavors,” says President Currie.

The association would like to thank outgoing President Ken Wynne, district attorney of the Alcovy Judicial Circuit for his leadership. For more information on the District Attorneys’ Association of Georgia, contact association President Rick Currie at (912) 287-4395.