1.  Pay them well, WITHOUT increasing taxes.

• The County Commission approves the budget, but the PROSECUTOR sets the pay for their employees.

• A sitting County Commissioner stated in Fall 2023, prior to the 2024 Budget being approved, that no one has asked for an increase in prosecutorial pay.

• The Commissioners were not aware of the huge disparity in pay between public defenders and prosecutors:

  • Public Defenders currently receive a base pay of $14,400.00 gross per week for the defense contract and handle approximately 35-40% of the caseload that Prosecutors are assigned.

  • The lowest-paid Assistant Prosecutor was only paid approximately $1,300.00 per week gross.

  •  The gross pay of all the prosecutors combined is approximately $8,000 gross per week.​

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                                                              SOURCE: Salary.com

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​​Based on the information above, St. Joseph County is in the

bottom 10-25% for Assistant Prosecutor pay in Michigan.​​​​​​​​​

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​COMPARISON BETWEEN

PROSECUTION & PUBLIC DEFENDERS:

 

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Prosecutors: Receive approx. $8,000.00/week divided

between FIVE (5) prosecutors for

nearly 100% of scheduled criminal cases

ANNUAL BASE PAY: approx. $416,000.00

vs.

Public Defenders: Base rate of $14,400.00/week to

EACH attorney for

approximately 35-40% of scheduled criminal cases

ANNUAL BASE PAY: approx. $748,800.00

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• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Pay increases for Assistant Prosecutors are ONLY done by the elected prosecutor.

• David Marvin refused to ask the County Commission for an increase.

• Our neighboring counties have higher starting pay for Assistant Prosecutors than what our Chief Assistant was earning with over ten (10) years of loyal employment in St. Joseph County. One county in particular has a smaller budget and smaller caseload, but pays significantly higher APA salaries.

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Deborah Davis will advocate for her employees, WITHOUT increasing taxes.

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2. Train them well.

• Adequate training for prosecutors is essential to effectively advocate for the citizens.

  • The current prosecutor conducted ONE (1) training in Fall 2021 .

  • He then failed to schedule any other trainings despite repeated requests from both law enforcement and Deborah Davis while employed as an Assistant Prosecutor.

• Deborah Davis completed as many trainings as she could fit in her schedule:

  • webinars during the lunch hour regularly

  • in-person training in Lansing, Michigan, regarding forfeitures

  • Nationally-recognized Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview (FETI) training. 

    • FETI is a rigorous program that included self-guided coursework followed by a practical application portion that took several months to complete.

    • Deborah Davis applied for and received a scholarship to cover the entire cost.

• Upon successful completion of the trainings, Deborah Davis repeatedly offered to share this crucial information with law enforcement, but Prosecutor Marvin refused to allow it.

• Prosecutor Marvin chastised Deborah Davis for sharing information gained through trainings and forbid her from advising any law enforcement of upcoming training opportunities.

 

When you have highly-trained employees working with highly-trained law enforcement officers, they are more likely to feel successful no matter what the outcome of the cases.

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• The current prosecutor has the least criminal jury trial experience of any of the Assistant Prosecutors he employed at the start of his elected term, yet he failed to regularly complete trainings or conduct jury trials to increase his skills.

• As of July 2024, David Marvin still has the least criminal trial experience of ANY of the candidates for prosecutor or Assistant Prosecuting Attorney(s) he employs.

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• In comparison with the other candidates, the current elected Prosecutor Marvin has the:​​

  • ​least experience in criminal law as a practicing attorney.

  • least experience in criminal trial preparation and execution.

  • least experience in evidentiary procedures and legal research.

  • least number of misdemeanor and felony criminal jury trials conducted.

  • least amount of professional prosecutorial training.

  • highest turnover of Assistant Prosecutors.

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​​​​Your elected prosecutor should be the most experienced, most skilled prosecutor to provide leadership and guidance and encourage continued training.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3. Treat them well.

• The prosecutor's office has been chronically understaffed for over 18 months; and mismanaged over the last several years. 

• The caseload was not fairly distributed, with the elected prosecutor taking the "administrative" role while overburdening the Assistant Prosecutors with the thousands of cases.

• Deborah Davis has been actively seeking candidates, and has the knowledge experience, skills, and demeanor to build a team of highly-effective, motivated assistant prosecutors.

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An effective leader acknowledges the importance

of a healthy work-life balance,

and strives to have caseloads fairly distributed.

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• The current office climate is toxic due to an insecure, incompetent leader who knows the least about prosecution but insists on centralizing all power and decisions through him despite his lack of knowledge, skills, and experience.

• Law enforcement officers are punished for calling on the Assistant Prosecutors for assistance even when the elected prosecutor isn't in the office or fails to answer time-sensitive calls.

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The office should operate as a team

where each member is respected and valued.

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• Assistant Prosecutors AND Law Enforcement Officers should be encouraged to continually improve their individual skills, and the elected prosecutor should implement clear, consistent policies regarding training.

• The goal is to have a consistent roster of highly-trained, dedicated employees.

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Being valued and skilled at your profession increases

job satisfaction, and reduces employee turnover.

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