A new era is underway in Dallas County, as Chuck Sinnard has made the leap to County Attorney after serving as an Assistant County Attorney for 18 years.

Sinnard says it’s taken some getting used to, but he’s confident he will help the Attorney’s Office through an ever-changing legal landscape. He says one area that is of particular concern is Dallas County’s rapidly-growing population, and how his office can keep up with that. “I don’t think it’s far off for Dallas County — it may not be the 2020 census, but probably not long after that — before we’re going to reach 100,000 people. (That’s a) significant change in population since the time I’ve started in the office, (and) that means increased workload for my office. And really just what the structure of my office is going to be to reflect a office of a larger population.”

Additionally, Sinnard says he’s considering the impact of technology on criminal prosecution, for both good and bad. He feels advances in technology are changing the way crimes are being committed, but at the same time it’s making the job of prosecutors easier in a lot of ways. Also, with the heavy presence of social media and online news sources, the public is much more likely to have knowledge of cases ahead of time. Sinnard says that can affect jury selection and cause trials to be moved to other locations with greater frequency. However, he adds that he’s committed to keeping up with technology as long as he’s County Attorney.

To hear more from Sinnard, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.