MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — New Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Kinser is well acquainted with the office, having served as a senior prosecutor for Berkeley County before taking on the chief prosecutor role this month.
Kinser talked about some successful prosecutions the office had been part of during an appearance last week on Panhandle Live including the case of a private school teacher convicted of sexually assaulting two students and a 26-year cold case involving a Martinsburg man convicted in a violent sexual assault.
The work continues as the prosecutor’s office looks to cases involving a former state senator’s death and the arrest of a delegate-elect on allegations he threatened fellow lawmakers.
One big challenge is filling roles in the prosecuting attorney’s office.
“It’s different for lawyers in the office, for the assistant prosecutors and the non-lawyers in the office,” Kinser said. “We are blessed here to have Shepherd and Blue Ridge (Community and Technical College), and all of these programs, a lot of them put out great candidates for our legal assistant positions in the office.”
It’s not so easy to find staff attorneys, though, according to Kinser.
“There’s a real issue in the area with a lack of lawyers, just in general not just ones who want to work and be a prosecutor, our appointed bar who takes appointed criminal cases and represents indigent defendants that is at a crisis level with the lack of lawyers that we have right now,” Kinser said.
It’s led to some interesting representation.
“Our chief judge, Judge Faircloth, she put out an order earlier this year that pretty much says if you’re a member of the bar in the eastern panhandle, you’re taking appointed cases now, we’re seeing cases in magistrate court with real estate lawyers and folks who don’t normally do this work because that pressed for lawyers,” Kinser said.
Kinser says even though they may be working out of their specialized fields, the appointed defense attorneys still have the skills to defend their clients.