Solicitor Randolph Murdaugh III of the 14th Judicial District, Hampton, South Carolina, and former NDAA state director resigned from his post effective the end of December 2005, ending an 85-year dynasty during which three generations of Murdaughs consecutively held the solicitor job.
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David Landefeld
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Fairfield County (Ohio) prosecutor David Landefeld was named 2005 Prosecutor of the Year by the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association at an awards ceremony held in Columbus in early December 2005. The awards committee chose Landefeld from among Ohio’s 88 county prosecutors in recognition of Landefeld’s involvement in training, teaching, mentoring and “all of those things that are above and beyond the everyday grinding of the everyday cases.”
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Debra B. Armanini
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Montgomery County, Ohio’s first assistant prosecuting attorney, Debra B. Armanini, has been named Ohio’s Outstanding Assistant Prosecutor of the Year for 2005. Currently, Mrs. Armanini chairs the Legislative Committee of the Montgomery County Association of Police Chiefs and the Montgomery County Criminal Justice Council Domestic Violence Subcommittee. She is involved in child welfare and domestic issues, serving as secretary of the Miami Valley Crime Stoppers Board and on the Administrative Committee of CARE House, the county-wide Child Advocacy Center, as well as the Montgomery County Child Fatality Review Board and on the Coordinated Community Response to Domestic Violence Committee. Mrs. Armanini was also recently named an associate director of the NDAA Board of Directors.
Assistant District Attorney Daniel McCarthy, chief trial counsel and director of trial training at the Office of the Bronx County District Attorney, was recently honored by the New York Prosecutors Training Institute (NYPTI) with its Trial Advocacy Award. McCarthy received the award at the annual meeting of the District Attorneys Association of New York State (DAANYS). The award is given to a prosecutor who “consistently demonstrates dynamic trial skills, leadership, and selfless dedication to criminal prosecutions in New York State.”
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels appointed Donald E. Currie judge of the Carroll County Circuit Court effective October 1, 2005. Currie had been chief deputy prosecutor in Carroll County for six years.
At their recent annual awards ceremony, the Minnesota County Attorneys Association presented Douglas L. Ruth, Steele County attorney since 1970, with its MCAA Johnson Distinguished Service Award. Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar received an award of excellence; Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Hilary Caligiuri was recognized with a meritorious service award; and Darrell C. Hill (Ramsey County) received the professional achievement award.
Executive director of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, Rebecca S. McClure, was recently selected to replace the elected judge in Illinois’s Boone County Superior Court II. McClure had previously worked in private practice and served for 11 years as a Boone County prosecutor.
Indiana Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Joel Hand, previously recognized for his outstanding contribution to the prosecution of drunk driving, has accepted a position with the Hamilton County (Indiana) Prosecutor’s Office as the Fatal Alcohol Crash Team (F.A.C.T.) prosecutor and supervisor of Superior Courts Four and Five. Hand will try cases and manage the creation of a new Fatal Alcohol Crash Team in Hamilton County.
Mark Campbell was recently appointed district judge for the 19th Judicial District of Oklahoma. Emily Redman, former assistant district attorney, was selected to fill the vacancy left by Campbell as district attorney for the district.
Texas District Attorney Jaime Esparza was named Texas Prosecutor of the Year at the Texas State Bar Association’s Annual Criminal and Civil Law Update. The Texas Prosecutor of the Year award is regarded as one of the highest honors a Texas prosecutor may receive.
Gary Young, district and county attorney in Lamar County, Texas, received the Prosecution Team Excellence Award from 60 Texas Children’s Advocacy Centers.
Deaths
Nelson G. “Gary” Conover, deputy district attorney in Talladega County, Alabama, died September 11, 2005, after a hard fought four-year battle with cancer.
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