Woodbury County Attorney James Loomis’s office needs five more attorneys to reach its full capacity of 18.
“We've been going on over a year of handling a deficit of prosecutors, and so it's lent itself to many challenges,” Loomis said.
The biggest of those challenges: the long hours Loomis and his staff must work to cover an increasing caseload.
"My day usually starts at six o’clock in the morning and ends around midnight. And then, I get up the next day and do it all over again."James Loomis, Woodbury County Attorney
"My day usually starts at six o’clock in the morning and ends around midnight,” he said. “And then, I get up the next day and do it all over again. I don’t think that’s unusual for those in this office.”
The lack of employees has been exacerbated by an unusually high number of criminal cases. Since June, the Sioux City Police Department has investigated seven homicides, not including vehicular cases or other shootings. That number also excludes murders that happened outside city limits.
Loomis says it's more than he's ever experienced in his years as a prosecutor.
When Loomis first joined the county attorney’s office several years ago, there were few openings. But things started to change before he took over as county attorney in January of 2023. And, he said, the problem is compounded by replacing veterans with employees who come right out of law school.
"That's really been a challenge — trying to get the new attorneys up to speed and making sure that they have everything that they need and are trained and growing in the right way so that they can handle those cases that come in,” he said.
The president of the Iowa State Bar Association, Ian Russell, said there is a need for lawyers in all areas of the profession, especially in smaller communities, and for indigent defense work.
“If there was a single reason why, I would address that reason and do my best to fix it,” Russell said.
Russell pointed to a combination of factors keeping some from pursuing a career in law.
“Some of it’s just the aging population, some people not interested in law. Some are not interested in being in Iowa,” he added.
From 2014 to 2022, the number of licensed lawyers who live and practice in the state fell by more than 260, or about 3.5%.
“Nobody really thinks about this until they need a lawyer, right? And nobody really knows what they need. Nobody's planning to need a lawyer,” he said. “On the criminal front, you know, there's a real crisis that is looming.”
“Nobody really thinks about this until they need a lawyer, right?"Ian Russell, Iowa State Bar Association President
Woodbury County recently approved higher salaries to try to entice people to apply for open positions in the county attorney’s office. Loomis wanted to get them filled as quickly as possible.
“Because when they say that crime doesn't stop it, really, it doesn't stop, and our office isn't afforded the luxury of passing it on to somebody else," Loomis said. "Our office continues to prosecute all those cases that come in."
He admitted the job of a prosecutor can be undesirable.
“It's something that you have to want to do. Because there is a lot of stress, you're usually dealing with people at their worst. And, you know, as you can probably imagine, it's not really at the top of everyone's wish list to want to do."
