DA: Rick Bridgeman
Please summarize your background.
I obtained my B.A. degree in Criminology from the University of Maryland. While attending law school in the evening, I served full-time as an investigator with the DeKalb County Solicitor’s Office. I obtained my law degree from Georgia State University College of Law and was admitted to the bar in June 1995. I served as an assistant district attorney in the Piedmont Judicial Circuit from July 1995 until July 1999.
From July 1999 until my appointment as district attorney by Governor Perdue on September 6, 2007, I served as an assistant district attorney in both the Northern Judicial Circuit and the Mountain Judicial Circuit. It has been my privilege to serve as district attorney in the Piedmont Circuit (Banks, Barrow and Jackson Counties) for these past nine months.
How has your background prepared you for the seat you are seeking?
My background as a prosecuting attorney and investigator, as well as my degree in criminology, has enabled me to serve effectively as district attorney for the past nine months. We have made significant progress in overcoming the challenges of the past and building a trustworthy office, dedicated to serving the citizens of our community.
Because I have served in other jurisdictions during my career, ranging from urban DeKalb County to rural Stephens County, I have learned which practices are most effective in the prosecution of criminal cases. Those experiences also provide me with perspective on the issues facing the Piedmont Circuit. Having seen the challenges in the criminal justice community that result from increasing population and growth, I am better prepared and equipped to anticipate and address future issues, such as gang violence, proactively and effectively.
Why are you the most qualified person for this position?
As a career prosecutor, having personally prosecuted thousands of cases ranging from DUI to murder and having extensive felony jury trial experience, I have the level of relevant experience necessary to train, mentor and lead others in the work of a district attorney’s office. We assembled the most seasoned, experienced and committed team of attorneys, investigators and support staff in the history of this circuit who are now working together with other talented but less experienced professionals in our office to build a culture of excellence.
We have made significant progress in bringing necessary improvement to the district attorney’s office, including resolving a backlog of over 2,000 uncharged criminal cases, increasing the rate of successful prosecutions from 54 percent to 85 percent and reducing the dismissal rate from 24 percent to 15 percent. We now track and expedite cases where defendants are held in jail. We now file criminal cases by accusation where permitted, saving thousands of dollars in witness and grand juror fees and keeping law enforcement officers on the street, instead of in the courthouse. We seek to indict or accuse cases within 90 days whenever possible to ensure timely justice for victims of crime and improve our ability to successfully prosecute each case. We reopened dozens of cases of child abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence that had been put on “hold” so that we can seek justice for those victims. We now are seeking justice on every case. I established a practice of regular meetings with law enforcement agencies and our other criminal justice partners to improve communication, learn where we can make improvements and discuss proactive and innovative ways to prevent crime.While we have made great strides, we still have work to do. Where we are successful, credit goes to our entire team. Where there is failure, I accept responsibility. We learn from our mistakes and seek daily to improve the quality of the service we provide to our community. We have a track record of significant accomplishment in just nine months and we hope to have the opportunity to continue that progress.
What do you consider to be the key issues facing the campaign? If elected, what would be your plans on how to address these issues?
There are several key issues facing the campaign. First, the increasing growth of our community will likely bring an increase in demand for services in the criminal justice system. We must be prepared to handle the increased demand effectively and efficiently with limited resources. We must be smarter in our approach to handling criminal cases. We should first work to prevent crime to reduce the growing crime problem in our community. Second, we must work to keep first-time non-violent offenders from becoming repeat offenders through appropriate supervision and treatment while under sentence. Repeat offenders who commit non-violent offenses must be handled through a progression of supervision, treatment and increasing sanctions to include incarceration when appropriate to require them to abide by the law. Finally, we must remove violent offenders and those who abuse children from our community through tough sentencing.
The second issue, closely related to the first, is the likely change in the character of crime in our community with growth. Gang violence is a problem that has plagued metro Atlanta counties. We must be proactive to prevent gang violence but deal with it appropriately when it occurs. We are currently prosecuting the first gang violence cases in the history of this circuit and one of those gang members has already been sentenced to prison. Gang membership begins at a young age. Likewise, many others who commit crime begin making poor life choices at an early age. Therefore, efforts to prevent gang violence and other crime must begin with our children. Our children must have the hope of a bright tomorrow, the love and guidance of a strong family and the support and encouragement of their community. We will continue to partner with the Tree House child advocacy center, our schools, DFCS, juvenile court and others to find effective ways to help children grow into healthy, happy, productive and law-abiding citizens. We must do a better job of partnering with the faith-based community in serving at-risk children and families. As a former foster parent, mentor and current adoptive parent, I have both personally and professionally dedicated myself to providing hope and encouragement for children in this community.
A third issue is the continuing problem with drug addiction, particularly methamphetamine. Again, prevention is a key factor in reducing the problem of substance abuse in our community. Most who have drug and alcohol addictions began their substance abuse at an early age. We will continue with our partners to look for ways to prevent children and teenagers from making those choices. However, for those defendants who are using drugs, we must combine requirements for effective treatment with certain and appropriate sanctions in order to encourage them to overcome their problems with drug use and become law-abiding citizens. Drug court can be effective, but the cost per defendant is high and the number of defendants who can participate is very limited. Drug courts can spend a half-million dollars a year for just one hundred defendants. Additionally, where drug court is used as a prosecution diversion program, it can take four prosecutions before a repeat drug offender would ever have a conviction entered on their record. We must look at how our limited funds can be spent most effectively to reduce crime. For example, our circuit has seen a reduction in the number of probation officers per offender resulting in a decrease in the ability to appropriately supervise offenders and an increase in the likelihood of recidivism. We must also look at ways to require the offender to bear the costs of treatment, rather than the taxpayer, wherever possible.
What is the greatest challenge facing the person elected to this position and how would you address it?
The greatest challenge is to effectively and efficiently handle a growing caseload of criminal cases without a corresponding increase in resources. State budget cuts and difficult economic times have resulted in a significant decrease in the funding available to prosecute each criminal case. Additionally, an increase in mandatory minimum prison sentences for some crimes has increased the likelihood of trial for many of these cases. That results in a significant increase in the amount of time and resources that it takes to prosecute each of those cases, compared to what it takes to prosecute a case which results in an early guilty plea. Criminal cases are handled most effectively when they are prosecuted in a timely manner. The older a case gets, the more difficult it is to prosecute. Witnesses are harder to locate, memories fade and evidence can be misplaced or destroyed with the passage of time. I have made the timely prosecution of cases a priority and we have seen a corresponding increase in our ability to be successful in the handling of those more recent cases. We spent thousands of hours working on the backlogged cases we inherited and our success rate on those cases has not been as high because of the difficulties presented in prosecuting cases that were already several years old at the time we inherited them. We will continue to focus on appropriate and timely handling of criminal cases so that dockets remain manageable, offenders are held responsible and victims receive justice.
What course would you like to see the county take as it grows over the next decade?
The county must plan ahead for the challenges of the future. As district attorney, I hope that we will continue to see positive results from the relationships we are building with law enforcement, the court system, our criminal justice partners and other public officials. If we continue to anticipate the needs of our citizens, we can be proactive in providing high quality services, utilizing the taxpayer’s resources effectively and improving the quality of life in our community, instead of reacting to issues after they occur. I hope to continue to improve our technology capabilities by improving our ability to electronically share data with our criminal justice partners thereby increasing our effectiveness; by providing online access to criminal case and docket information to victims, witnesses and the public; by putting all of our public information online, including closed case files, budget and expense information and other statistical information; and by exploring opportunities to go “paperless,” which reduces costs while increasing efficiency.
I obtained my B.A. degree in Criminology from the University of Maryland. While attending law school in the evening, I served full-time as an investigator with the DeKalb County Solicitor’s Office. I obtained my law degree from Georgia State University College of Law and was admitted to the bar in June 1995. I served as an assistant district attorney in the Piedmont Judicial Circuit from July 1995 until July 1999.
From July 1999 until my appointment as district attorney by Governor Perdue on September 6, 2007, I served as an assistant district attorney in both the Northern Judicial Circuit and the Mountain Judicial Circuit. It has been my privilege to serve as district attorney in the Piedmont Circuit (Banks, Barrow and Jackson Counties) for these past nine months.
How has your background prepared you for the seat you are seeking?
My background as a prosecuting attorney and investigator, as well as my degree in criminology, has enabled me to serve effectively as district attorney for the past nine months. We have made significant progress in overcoming the challenges of the past and building a trustworthy office, dedicated to serving the citizens of our community.
Because I have served in other jurisdictions during my career, ranging from urban DeKalb County to rural Stephens County, I have learned which practices are most effective in the prosecution of criminal cases. Those experiences also provide me with perspective on the issues facing the Piedmont Circuit. Having seen the challenges in the criminal justice community that result from increasing population and growth, I am better prepared and equipped to anticipate and address future issues, such as gang violence, proactively and effectively.
Why are you the most qualified person for this position?
As a career prosecutor, having personally prosecuted thousands of cases ranging from DUI to murder and having extensive felony jury trial experience, I have the level of relevant experience necessary to train, mentor and lead others in the work of a district attorney’s office. We assembled the most seasoned, experienced and committed team of attorneys, investigators and support staff in the history of this circuit who are now working together with other talented but less experienced professionals in our office to build a culture of excellence.
We have made significant progress in bringing necessary improvement to the district attorney’s office, including resolving a backlog of over 2,000 uncharged criminal cases, increasing the rate of successful prosecutions from 54 percent to 85 percent and reducing the dismissal rate from 24 percent to 15 percent. We now track and expedite cases where defendants are held in jail. We now file criminal cases by accusation where permitted, saving thousands of dollars in witness and grand juror fees and keeping law enforcement officers on the street, instead of in the courthouse. We seek to indict or accuse cases within 90 days whenever possible to ensure timely justice for victims of crime and improve our ability to successfully prosecute each case. We reopened dozens of cases of child abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence that had been put on “hold” so that we can seek justice for those victims. We now are seeking justice on every case. I established a practice of regular meetings with law enforcement agencies and our other criminal justice partners to improve communication, learn where we can make improvements and discuss proactive and innovative ways to prevent crime.While we have made great strides, we still have work to do. Where we are successful, credit goes to our entire team. Where there is failure, I accept responsibility. We learn from our mistakes and seek daily to improve the quality of the service we provide to our community. We have a track record of significant accomplishment in just nine months and we hope to have the opportunity to continue that progress.
What do you consider to be the key issues facing the campaign? If elected, what would be your plans on how to address these issues?
There are several key issues facing the campaign. First, the increasing growth of our community will likely bring an increase in demand for services in the criminal justice system. We must be prepared to handle the increased demand effectively and efficiently with limited resources. We must be smarter in our approach to handling criminal cases. We should first work to prevent crime to reduce the growing crime problem in our community. Second, we must work to keep first-time non-violent offenders from becoming repeat offenders through appropriate supervision and treatment while under sentence. Repeat offenders who commit non-violent offenses must be handled through a progression of supervision, treatment and increasing sanctions to include incarceration when appropriate to require them to abide by the law. Finally, we must remove violent offenders and those who abuse children from our community through tough sentencing.
The second issue, closely related to the first, is the likely change in the character of crime in our community with growth. Gang violence is a problem that has plagued metro Atlanta counties. We must be proactive to prevent gang violence but deal with it appropriately when it occurs. We are currently prosecuting the first gang violence cases in the history of this circuit and one of those gang members has already been sentenced to prison. Gang membership begins at a young age. Likewise, many others who commit crime begin making poor life choices at an early age. Therefore, efforts to prevent gang violence and other crime must begin with our children. Our children must have the hope of a bright tomorrow, the love and guidance of a strong family and the support and encouragement of their community. We will continue to partner with the Tree House child advocacy center, our schools, DFCS, juvenile court and others to find effective ways to help children grow into healthy, happy, productive and law-abiding citizens. We must do a better job of partnering with the faith-based community in serving at-risk children and families. As a former foster parent, mentor and current adoptive parent, I have both personally and professionally dedicated myself to providing hope and encouragement for children in this community.
A third issue is the continuing problem with drug addiction, particularly methamphetamine. Again, prevention is a key factor in reducing the problem of substance abuse in our community. Most who have drug and alcohol addictions began their substance abuse at an early age. We will continue with our partners to look for ways to prevent children and teenagers from making those choices. However, for those defendants who are using drugs, we must combine requirements for effective treatment with certain and appropriate sanctions in order to encourage them to overcome their problems with drug use and become law-abiding citizens. Drug court can be effective, but the cost per defendant is high and the number of defendants who can participate is very limited. Drug courts can spend a half-million dollars a year for just one hundred defendants. Additionally, where drug court is used as a prosecution diversion program, it can take four prosecutions before a repeat drug offender would ever have a conviction entered on their record. We must look at how our limited funds can be spent most effectively to reduce crime. For example, our circuit has seen a reduction in the number of probation officers per offender resulting in a decrease in the ability to appropriately supervise offenders and an increase in the likelihood of recidivism. We must also look at ways to require the offender to bear the costs of treatment, rather than the taxpayer, wherever possible.
What is the greatest challenge facing the person elected to this position and how would you address it?
The greatest challenge is to effectively and efficiently handle a growing caseload of criminal cases without a corresponding increase in resources. State budget cuts and difficult economic times have resulted in a significant decrease in the funding available to prosecute each criminal case. Additionally, an increase in mandatory minimum prison sentences for some crimes has increased the likelihood of trial for many of these cases. That results in a significant increase in the amount of time and resources that it takes to prosecute each of those cases, compared to what it takes to prosecute a case which results in an early guilty plea. Criminal cases are handled most effectively when they are prosecuted in a timely manner. The older a case gets, the more difficult it is to prosecute. Witnesses are harder to locate, memories fade and evidence can be misplaced or destroyed with the passage of time. I have made the timely prosecution of cases a priority and we have seen a corresponding increase in our ability to be successful in the handling of those more recent cases. We spent thousands of hours working on the backlogged cases we inherited and our success rate on those cases has not been as high because of the difficulties presented in prosecuting cases that were already several years old at the time we inherited them. We will continue to focus on appropriate and timely handling of criminal cases so that dockets remain manageable, offenders are held responsible and victims receive justice.
What course would you like to see the county take as it grows over the next decade?
The county must plan ahead for the challenges of the future. As district attorney, I hope that we will continue to see positive results from the relationships we are building with law enforcement, the court system, our criminal justice partners and other public officials. If we continue to anticipate the needs of our citizens, we can be proactive in providing high quality services, utilizing the taxpayer’s resources effectively and improving the quality of life in our community, instead of reacting to issues after they occur. I hope to continue to improve our technology capabilities by improving our ability to electronically share data with our criminal justice partners thereby increasing our effectiveness; by providing online access to criminal case and docket information to victims, witnesses and the public; by putting all of our public information online, including closed case files, budget and expense information and other statistical information; and by exploring opportunities to go “paperless,” which reduces costs while increasing efficiency.
Defined tags for this entry: Election, Jackson County
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