Government
BY ATIRIKTA KUMAR
Mike Holley, Montgomery County’s new district attorney, discusses his career, top priorities
to modernize. We are traditional, but we look for things that are innovative that help us do the work the right way. And so, for example, we transition from paper les to paper list les, from CDs or DVDs with video on them to a server with a link. ... We’re using [arti cial intelligence] in some ways to help us with some of our work. What are some initiatives that your predecessor had that you’re wanting to continue or some new initiatives that you want to introduce? What we’ve done really well is ... we take calls from police at the scene, and we handle those calls from the start, which is unusual. It’s very unusual. In many jurisdictions, a prosecutor won’t get a case until days, weeks, sometimes months after the arrest, and a lot can happen in that time, including the possibility that somebody may have been charged inappropriately. ... We’re going to continue to be very aggressive in the Internet Crimes Against Children world. Unfor- tunately, crime doesn’t stay static either, and the use of computers and the exploitation of children, the people who do that are getting more aggressive. And so we’re responding in kind. And we have built a lab here ... to be able to get into computers, get into cellphones, so ... one of the things that we will do is continue to build that and develop that. I would like to advance the ability for our prosecutors to get into the courtroom and have the visuals they need and the resources they need. ... What are some other big crime challenges in the community? A perpetual problem we’ve had in Montgomery
Mike Holley began serving as Montgomery Coun- ty’s new district attorney in late October, after being appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott on Oct. 29. Holley succeeds former DA Brett Ligon, who resigned from the position in early October to run for Texas Senate District 4—Brandon Crighton’s seat, which he vacated due to being named chancellor and CEO at Texas Tech University. In an interview, Holley discussed his career journey, his top priorities and the crime challenges he sees in Montgomery County. What are your top priorities in the new role? If I was going to summarize my kind of philos- ophy ... is that people who are doing good things should be happy in this county, and people who are doing bad things should be scared. ... I want families and students and kids and retirees, and people who are working, or just anybody ... if they’re trying to do the right things, I want them to be safe and nd joy. But for the people who commit serious crimes, they need serious time, and I want them to be afraid that if they’re in this county, ... they’re going to be arrested, and ... we’re going to prosecute them. ... Beyond that, not every crime is a serious crime, and not every defendant has to go to prison. There are other things that we can do to restore people to our community and to their families, and we do that. Veterans Treatment Court is an example. Drug Court, DWI Court, those kind of things. What’s your vision for the department as the community is also growing? Brett ... had a vision for what it looks like, and I’m going to continue that vision, which is, we continue
Mike Holley (left) succeeds Brett Ligon as the county’s district attorney after Ligon resigned to run for Texas Senate District 4.
COURTESY MONTGOMERY COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
County is impaired driving. And you’re not likely to be killed in a murder in this county. ... They do occur, but they’re fairly infrequent, but we have impaired drivers who hurt and kill people, ... and so when we have an intoxication manslaughter or an intoxication assault, we can be at the scene and help law enforcement. Those cases are complicated. They’re as complicated as any murder, because you have the issues of impairment from the driver, but you also have issues of causation. It can get very technical with the science of accident reconstruc- tion. And so we’re going to press that.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For a longer version, visit communityimpact.com .
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