Nearly a majority of the state’s 27 district attorneys are suffering from an inability to recruit and retain attorneys, said District Attorneys Council Chairman Kyle Cabelka, who serves as the top prosecutor for Comanche and Cotton counties.
“I’ve had one position open for assistant district attorney just before I became the district attorney, so for almost six years,” Cabelka said. “It’s just increasingly difficult to get someone to move down to southwest Oklahoma.”
Multiple statewide counties are grappling with an overall shortage of lawyers, according to the Oklahoma Bar Association.
An estimated 20 Oklahoma counties have been classified as a “legal desert,” meaning they have fewer than one licensed attorney for every 1,000 people, while another 29 had fewer than 1.5 lawyers per 1,000 residents, according to the group’s analysis.
Oklahoma prosecutors are feeling the impact of those shortages, and are weighing the pros and cons of several proposals that they hope might help draw more people into the profession.
One idea is to create a fund that would pay attorneys to work in certain areas for a specific amount of time.
But Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said he’s concerned that the fund could be used to lure prosecutors, who work in his office, to rural areas of the state.
Kunzweiler said Monday he wants to help rural prosecutors, but not at the expense of protecting his community. He worked as a rural prosecutor for 12 years before landing in Tulsa.
Once he gets a prosecutor trained, they are lured away by a rural district attorney for more money, he said. “There have been occasions I felt like I was the farm team for rural jurisdictions,” Kunzweiler said.
Another idea prosecutors are mulling is a loan forgiveness program.
Under that plan, prosecutors who work in a rural jurisdiction for five years would receive a lump sum payment to their student loan lender at the conclusion of their commitment, according to a document provided by the council.
District attorneys said they might also need a position in the District Attorneys Council that focuses on workforce development and recruiting attorneys.
They also briefly considered, then rejected, a plan that would waive property taxes for five years for attorneys who sign a contract and agree to purchase a home in certain areas.
Kunzweiler said the property tax system is set up to pay for certain services and infrastructure, and he disagrees with carving out exceptions to benefit small segments of society.
This article was published by the Oklahoma Voice. Read the original here.
