Dennis Thompson was sworn in on Friday as Assistant District Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

According to District Attorney Mike O’Dell – Thompson has been with the District Attorney’s Office since July 1, 2012, and has been serving as the Office’s full-time Administrative Assistant.

“Dennis Thompson is an incredibly gifted individual. He was hired to take over the enormous responsibilities of Administrative Assistant when long-time employee, Patsy Warren, retired,” O’Dell said. “Patsy agreed to come back with us on a part-time basis, thus freeing Dennis up to assume additional duties as an Assistant DA.

It gives me the best of both worlds—Patsy continuing to provide her expertise to the position several days a week, while Dennis now able to take on some of the legal workload. This is especially critical for us at this time, as I pray about how to fill the loss of Assistant DA Wes Mobley who recently won election to the bench as Cherokee County District Judge.

Dennis will continue in a ‘dual role,’ still handling the full-time Administrative Assistant’s duties while taking on the responsibilities of an ADA in District and Traffic Courts. I am quite blessed to have Patsy and Dennis ‘teamed up’ and running my office, and now, having Dennis being able to use his legal skills in the courtroom for us as well.”

According to O’Dell, ADA Mobley will take the bench in mid-January 2015. “Wes will be greatly missed by everyone. He has served the communities of Dekalb and Cherokee Counties as an Assistant District Attorney with distinction and honor for the past four years, and has been an integral part of our office family. He is a terrific young man who will make an outstanding judge for Cherokee County. Clearly, our loss is Cherokee County’s gain.”

Thompson has been a licensed attorney since September 1997. According to O’Dell, he has extensive experience in financial administration and office management, making him a very valuable asset to the operations in the DA’s Office. “I am not in a position to replace Wes at this time,” O’Dell stated.

I have no idea what will happen in the upcoming legislative session concerning DA budgets statewide. I have been advised that the General Fund Budget is in dire shape and that we (DAs) may be in for additional cuts.

Thus, I have decided not to try to hire someone to fill Wes’s position until I know I can keep that person employed. It would be unfair to bring a new prosecutor into the office only to have to let that person go after 6 months or a year.

Dennis’s addition to the legal staff—even with limited legal duties due to his other administrative responsibilities—allows us to delay making a decision on Wes’s replacement. I am very grateful that Dennis has agreed to take on the additional legal duties. I know he is capable of doing well in both capacities, and he will be successful in this endeavor.”