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Name, age and address: Jeff Shattuck, 41, 510 Ridgecrest Road, LaGrange.

Occupation: Attorney.

Education: Graduated from the University of Alabama in 1992 majoring in criminal justice. Graduated from Mississippi College School of Law in 1995. Active member of the State Bar of Georgia. Member of the State Bar of Alabama.

Family: Married to April Leigh Shattuck. Two boys: Parker Shattuck and Carson Shattuck.

Relevant Experience:

Over 15 years of trial experience in the trial of misdemeanor and felony offenses. Currently the superivisor of the Troup County Public Defenders Office with a staff of three attorneys, two administrative assistants and one investigator. I am a former partner in the law firm of Duncan, Thomasson, Leonard and Shattuck. I have trial, administrative and business experience.

Why are you Running?

I am running for the office of solicitor because I believe the citizens of Troup County deserve to have a solicitor’s office that is run effectively and efficiently. I believe the resources of the Troup County citizens are not being put to effective use.

I believe that with a little hard work and dedication the solicitor’s office can provide better service to the victims of crime, the law enforcement community and the taxpayers of Troup County. I believe there are several issues affecting the solicitor’s office right now, but the biggest issue is the lack of attorney review of cases before formal charges are brought.

My grandmother always said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If the Solicitor reviews the cases prior to accusation then any evidence that is needed to prosecute the case can be obtained at the earliest possible time. This cuts out any delays when the case comes up for trial or plea negotiations. Delays are costly to the Troup County citizens in numerous ways, such as lost court time, juror pay, victims taking time off from work to come to court, lay witnesses losing time from work, baliff’s salaries and salaries to law enforcement for having to come to court over and over again.

Additionally, this will help the solicitor’s office be more prepared for plea negotiations – which could end the case at an early stage in the prosecution – and ultimately trial of the case if that becomes necessary. Finally, if elected as solicitor, I will look for new and alternative ways to deal with crime in an effort to try and divert some of the costs of the operation of the solicitor’s office from the taxpayers of Troup County.

Editor’s note: This candidate did not answer the following questions, “Biggest issues affecting the Solicitor’s office right now?” and “What can you do to address the issue?”