photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

District Attorney-elect Dakota Loomis and District Attorney Suzanne Valdez are pictured giving arguments in the trial of George Burgess in June 2024. The two faced-off in court while they were also DA candidates.

Multiple Douglas County judges have expressed concerns this month during various hearings about how crowded the January court calendar is, just as the District Attorney’s Office is set to transition to new leadership.

Dakota Loomis will become Douglas County’s new district attorney on Jan. 13, replacing fellow Democrat Suzanne Valdez, who served one term in office before losing her August primary. Both have acknowledged the busy court calendar and new staffing arrangements but have expressed optimism about the office transfer.

Among judges’ concerns are the number of trials scheduled for January.

In Judge Amy Hanley’s court, a double murder trial is set for two weeks starting Jan. 6. Hanley said on Dec. 18 that her calendar was so full coming into the New Year that she was setting future trials out several months to avoid any scheduling conflicts. The Jan. 6 trial is for Rodney Marshall, who is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and multiple counts of attempted murder.

Chief Judge James McCabria said in a hearing just before Christmas that he was “surprised” how full his January docket was. He was able to find a spot for a motion hearing for Carrody Buchhorn’s wrongful imprisonment lawsuit but in total he has five jury trials scheduled. Buchhorn was convicted of killing a 9-month-old at a day care center, but her case was overturned and ultimately dismissed, paving the way to her wrongful conviction suit.

Judge Stacey Donovan has three jury trials scheduled in January, including that of Cir Allen Glover, who is charged with first-degree murder in the June shooting death of 17-year-old Isaiah Neal.

Judge Sally Pokorny was scheduled for two trials in January, but one has been canceled. During a Dec. 20 pretrial conference for James M. Henderson, who was charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, Pokorny asked Assistant District Attorney Madeline Bjorklun if the DA’s office had enough attorneys available to cover its January responsibilities. Bjorklun, who will soon depart the office, said that cases would be covered.

At the end of that conference, Pokorny ordered Henderson to appear for trial on Jan. 6. However, the trial ended up being canceled after Bjorklun filed a motion on Dec. 27 to dismiss all charges against Henderson “due to prosecutorial discretion.”

Pokorny’s other scheduled trial for January is a case involving aggravated assault and several other charges.

Bjorklun is one of five prosecutors who have been confirmed as leaving the District Attorney’s Office in January ahead of the transition from Valdez to Loomis. Bjorklun was sworn into office in February of 2023.

Other attorneys leaving the office ahead of the transition, according to District Attorney Suzanne Valdez, are Assistant DA Jenna Phelps, who joined the office in February 2024, and Assistant DA Brian Deiter, who joined the office in June 2020 as a law clerk before becoming a prosecuting attorney in August 2021.

Valdez declined to give any context as to why Bjorklun, Phelps and Deiter were leaving, but she explained that two others — charging attorney Ted Baird and charging trial assistant Cathy Reyes — were both leaving due to retirement. She said Reyes has been with the DA’s office for over 30 years.

Valdez said that she has been proud to serve the people of Douglas County over the last four years as DA and that she is proud of her team.

“Under my leadership, the role of the prosecutor and my office has been transformed. We have gone outside of the traditional criminal justice system for accountability for defendants and justice for victims and survivors. I am proud of my DA team for their hard work and commitment to public safety,” Valdez said.

She said that she had been working with Loomis throughout December to ensure a smooth transition.

“He has been given complete access to the office. All information he asks for has been given to him, including a list of all jury trials scheduled through the first quarter of 2025, which I provided him and encouraged him to review. He has also been briefed on major pending investigations and cases. Whenever Mr. Loomis has questions or requests information, I have ensured that he has access to the office,” Valdez said in an email.

Loomis told the Journal-World that he has been working to ensure a stable transition since the night he was elected.

“I have been working with the current office, the Courts, local law enforcement, outside stakeholders, and my transition team to ensure a smooth process,” Loomis wrote in an email to the Journal-World. “This process is continuing all the way through inauguration on January 13th and I have been encouraged by the outpouring of support from our justice community partners.”

He said that Valdez had “gone out of her way” to see that he has had access to all files and staff as needed. Loomis said he has now met with every member of the office and that he believes they are ready to “hit the ground running.”

He said that his top priority is to ensure that the office can handle the upcoming caseload to prevent any interruption in workflow.

“Victims and their families deserve to have no interruption in their cases while those accused of crimes deserve to have their day in court without undue delay. I am confident the current staff and all new additions will be prepared to fulfill their duties,” Loomis said.