Special to the Herald

Attorney Robert Busbee announces his candidacy for District Attorney of the Ogeechee Circuit as a Republican. Busbee will face incumbent Daphne Totten in the Republican primary on May 21.

The Ogeechee Circuit is comprised of Bulloch, Effingham, Jenkins and Screven counties.

“Our District Attorney is responsible for a growing number of lost cases, wasted money and poorly chosen cases to prosecute. We need to bring more accountability and transparency to the office, and we have to do a better job of keeping our community safe,” said Busbee.

Effingham County shares a district attorney with Bulloch, Screven and Jenkins counties. Together, the four counties comprise the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit.

“About 90% of the population lives in Effingham and Bulloch, and both counties are growing fast. I believe we need to prepare now for the growth that is coming down the road.

“The Ogeechee District Attorney’s Office is currently structured to handle the caseload of a small community. Two prosecutors are assigned to each judge, and they handle everything from shoplifting to murder.” Busbee said.

According to Busbee, in larger areas, prosecutors are assigned to types of cases based upon their skill and experience. So, your most experienced prosecutors would handle violent crimes like murder and your newest would handle more minor crimes like shoplifting.

“The more experienced prosecutors would also carry a smaller caseload so they could give these more serious crimes the attention they need.

“I also believe we need to start treating Effingham as a co-equal to Bulloch in this circuit. Effingham is already getting close to Bulloch in population, and according to census data, it is growing at a faster rate. We need to prepare for a near future where this circuit has two counties with 100,000+ people.

“I will change the way the office is run to ensure all cases are prosecuted quickly and effectively.

“Too much taxpayer money is being wasted and too many victims are not seeing justice,” said Busbee.  “We deserve a district attorney who will treat this office as a full-time job and will simply do a better job of prosecuting cases.”

Busbee is a defense attorney in Statesboro who owns his own law practice, Busbee Law Group.

Busbee received his bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University and his law degree from Georgia State University College of Law. He has practiced law for more than 10 years.