HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — Houston County's Eric Edwards has spent nearly his entire legal career in the Houston County courthouse.
Now, as Houston County's newly-elected District Attorney, he is preparing to address case backlogs and meet the demands of one of Georgia's fastest-growing counties when he takes office in January 2025.
"The biggest change that's gonna take place in this office isn't me taking over as DA," Edwards said. "The biggest change is that our judicial circuit is going from three superior court judges to four."
Edwards, 37, sees this additional judicial position as crucial for tackling the office's caseload. The fourth judge position will allow for eight additional trial weeks per year.
"We want to be able to get these cases to trial faster than we ever had before," Edwards said, "so that we can ensure we get that measure of justice for victims."
After graduating law school in 2012, Edwards began his career in 2013 as a staff attorney for the circuit's three superior court judges. He joined the District Attorney's office in 2015, where he quickly found his calling; prosecuting crimes against children, domestic violence cases, and human trafficking.
"It wasn't too long working here before I realized this is really all I wanna do," Edwards said. "The rest of my career is prosecuting cases."
Edwards has served as Chief Assistant District Attorney since September 2021, working alongside current DA William Kendall. Despite both having previously sought the DA position during an earlier appointment process, Edwards describes their working relationship as "fantastic."
"We were both seeking the same job, we both knew that," Edwards said. "But we both knew we were gonna work together to get the mission of this office done."
One of their joint accomplishments has been fully staffing the office with experienced prosecutors - a rarity among Georgia's district attorney offices. However, Edwards notes that state funding hasn't kept pace with Houston County's growth.
"We still have fewer prosecutors allotted to us in this office than some neighboring jurisdictions with counties that are smaller than ours," Edwards said. "That'll catch up over time."
In addition to violent crimes, Edwards plans to focus on clearing backlogs of other felony cases that have received less priority in recent years.
"We've got a whole bunch of other felony cases - property crimes, burglaries, entering autos, felony-level thefts, and felony drug crimes - that have taken less priority than the serious violent felony cases," Edwards said. "Those are the cases I'm really looking forward to getting some resolutions on."
A Perry native, Edwards lives nearby with his wife, who teaches elementary school in the county, and their two young daughters. Despite the challenges ahead, he's more excited than nervous about taking office.
"It's not a job that's completely foreign to me," Edwards said. "I know what the job is, what the job entails, and we're ready to go. I'm excited to get going in January."
The addition of the fourth superior court judge position marks the first expansion of the circuit's judiciary in close to 25 years, according to Edwards. The governor's office is currently in the process of selecting who will fill this new position.