Welcome to the official website for the Office of the Douglas County District Attorney — Douglas Judicial Circuit

Welcome.

I am proud to serve as your District Attorney and execute a new vision encompassing Truth, Justice, and Community in Douglas County. The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes felony offenses in the Superior Court of Douglas County. As District Attorney, I am responsible for supervising and training a staff of nearly 50 individuals including attorneys, investigators, victim–witness advocates, administrators, and support personnel, while administering an annual budget of approximately $3.5 million.


The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office is committed to Smart Prosecution. We partner with citizens, civic leaders, and local law enforcement agencies to address issues that are important to this community. We believe this teamwork improves the quality of life in Douglas County and makes our community a safer place for all to live.


We hope this website proves to be a useful resource to answer frequently asked questions and provide the greater community a better understanding of the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office and the criminal justice system in general.

 
 
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Yours for a safer Douglas,
Dalia Racine
District Attorney
Douglas Judicial Circuit

 
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District Attorney
Dalia Racine

Dalia Racine has lived in Douglas County for over 13 years with her husband, a Douglas County educator, and their 3 children. Dalia brings almost 15 years of prosecutorial experience to serve our community. She has specialized in homicides, crimes against women and children, and human trafficking. Dalia also served as an Attorney–Advisor with AEquitas, where she provided training and technical assistance around gender-based violence investigations and prosecutions to prosecutors, law enforcement, and allied professionals across the country.


Dalia knows what it takes to be an effective prosecutor. Prosecutors have an obligation to keep their community safe by implementing innovative practices and policies that reduce the number of repeat offenders who cause harm. Dalia has the experience and education to make sure that we integrate smart justice while holding dangerous offenders accountable in our prison system. Additionally, Dalia knows how important it is for the District Attorney's Office to be an integral part of our community and to keep servant leadership at the forefront of everything we do. 

 Executive Staff

Chief Assistant District Attorney Kevin McMurry

Bio coming soon!

Email:kmcmurry@douglascountyga.gov
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Chief Investigator- Kim Tesalona

Chief K.M. Tesalona began her career in the United States Air Force as a law enforcement officer and later a desk sergeant. After four years of service, she left the military and moved to Atlanta to be with her family. Tesalona joined the City of Decatur Police Department serving as a police officer and later a detective. After ten years she left the police department and joined the Dekalb County District Attorney’s Office where she worked in the newly-formed Crimes Against Children Unit. After twenty years of service to DeKalb County, she retired and joined the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office.

As Chief Investigator she is responsible for the day-to-day functions of the investigative staff within our office, including management of five full-time Peace Officer Standards and Training Council certified investigators; she also manages personnel issues including recruitment, training and development, leave time, disciplinary actions, evaluations, coordinating case investigations for complex crimes, creating investigative plans, assigning staff, and working with other agencies, as well as providing court coverage and in-depth support for investigators and attorneys and providing informal training and 1-to-1 training with investigators and attorneys to improve their work product.

She enjoys the work she does because she likes being able to help and motivate young investigators. She chose a career in law enforcement to interact with the community, and because it is indeed the most rewarding experience when people remember you for what you've done.

Her two biggest achievements to date are raising her daughter as a single parent and beating breast cancer.

Email:ktesalona@douglascountyga.gov

Director of VWAP (Victim Witness Advocate Program)- Lindsey Appleby Knight

As the Director of the Victim–Witness Assistance Program, Lindsey is responsible for the development, supervision, and implementation of the VWAP Program while serving as a liaison between victims, investigators, and prosecutors in the District Attorney’s Office. She helps ensure that victims of felony crimes are treated with dignity and respect, that they receive emotional support throughout the criminal justice process, and that they are notified of the rights afforded to them by law.

After obtaining her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Jacksonville State University, she began her career with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office as a legal staff assistant before later transitioning into the Victim-Witness Unit. During her 12 year tenure with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office she has served as a Trial Line Advocate, a Special Victims Advocate, Assistant Director of Victim Services, and Director. She is a Nationally Credentialed Advocate (Advanced Comprehensive Victim Intervention Specialist), a Georgia Certified Advocate through the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia, and FindHelp Certified.

When asked why she enjoys the work that she does she responded, “Victim’s don’t ask to be victimized and the Criminal Justice System, while making improvements, isn’t a very victim friendly system. Being able to support, assist, and empower those who find themselves in the middle of system where they feel their power has been taken away, is my why and it’s what I enjoy most about my work.”

Email:lappleby@douglascountyga.gov
 
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Director of Operations- Laura Thompson

A native of Douglasville, Laura Thompson has a background in banking and finance. She was first employed with the Douglas County Board of Commissioners/District Attorney’s Office in September 2009.

As Director of Operations, she oversees all areas of finance and administration, including payroll, budgets, accounts payable and receivables, job costing, cash management, general ledger, inventory, banking, and reconciliations. She provides strategic analyses for senior management to determine project and office profitability, prepares quarterly financial statements and required special reports. She enjoys doing several things while working here, such as problem-solving, providing timely and relevant analyses, and working as a team to grow the department. She is also excited about one of her newly-added duties as a grant specialist, which entails reviewing and selecting opportunities, keeping a close eye on application deadlines, and meeting all reporting deadlines.

She enjoys sewing, crafting, photography, and watching Westerns.

Email:lthompson@douglascountyga.gov

Office Manager- Amanda Cooke

As Office Manager, Amanda provides administrative support to the District Attorney and senior leadership team and supervises the support staff. She plays a critical role within a fast-paced and high-energy work environment by managing information flow. The Office Manager is the key liaison between the public, staff members, and the District Attorney.

After graduating from Mercer University with a B.S. in Business Administration, she began her career in the private sector in human resources. She joined the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office in 2008 and worked as a Legal Staff Assistant for 13 years before transitioning into the Executive Assistant position in January 2021. She then transitioned to the role of Office Manager in December 2021.

Amanda is a lifelong Douglas County resident. She loves being part of a team that works hard every day to make a difference in our community, in which she and her husband are raising their three children.

Email:acooke@douglascountyga.gov

Director of Communications and Community Relations-Lauren Burden

As the Director of Communications and Community Relations, Lauren is responsible for maintaining the office’s social media, website, and marketing materials. She also coordinates and organizes the office’s involvement in community events and awareness programs.

Lauren received her B.A. in Sociology from Georgia College and State University in 2010. She joined the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office as a Victim Advocate in April 2013. Lauren was the proud recipient of the office’s Barry Wood Award in 2021. She transitioned to the role of Director of Communications and Community Relations in January 2022. In 2022, Lauren was recognized as one of Douglas County's Top Young Professionals of 2022.

Lauren is an avid baseball fan and currently serves on the executive board at a local baseball organization where her son plays. When she is not at baseball or work, she enjoys spending time with her son and family.

Email:lburden@douglascountyga.gov

Team

 

ADA

The Assistant District Attorneys in our office are responsible for prosecuting felony-level cases in Douglas County. The prosecutor represents the State and its citizens and seeks to serve justice on felony criminal cases. In every case, the prosecutor seeks to discover and understand the truth. A prosecutor will resolve a case either by a plea or by taking the case to trial. They could be assigned to one of several specialized units in our office, which are: Pre-Charging Unit (PCU), Programs, Accountability and Community Engagement (P.A.C.E), Special Victims Unit (SVU), Trial Teams, and Juvenile Court.

 

Investigator

Investigators are an integral part of our office in seeking the truth and achieving justice for our community. The investigators are POST certified and have several years of law enforcement experience prior to working in our office. The investigator is responsible for helping collect evidence on cases if needed, locating witnesses and victims, assisting in meetings with witnesses and victims, and assisting in the courtroom when needed. We have investigators assigned to each Trial Team, Juvenile Court, the Pre-Charging Unit (PCU), and the Special Victims Unit (SVU).

 

Victim Witness

The Victim Witness Assistance Program advocates are the main contacts for victims in a case. The advocates are responsible for communicating with victims with updates on the case, notifying them of court dates, referring the victims to resources, assisting the victims in court, and coordinating victims and witnesses for trial. The advocates are responsible for ensuring that the Crime Victims Bill of Rights requirements are met with each case. The Victim Witness Unit is composed of a director, three trial advocates, a juvenile court advocate, a child advocate who specializes in cases with child victims, a special victims unit advocate, and a compensation advocate, who helps victims apply for the Georgia Crime Victims Compensation Program.

 
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Paralegal

Paralegals are an integral part of the office and ensure all case files are in order and organized for the prosecutors. Each court team is assigned a paralegal; each specialized unit has a paralegal as well. The paralegals are responsible for sending court notices, publishing court calendars, filing documents with the Clerk’s Office, pulling files for Court, and helping where needed in Court.

 

Support Staff

The support staff in our office helps keep our office functioning by helping with the technology, assisting in gathering evidence, answering phones, speaking with office visitors, managing the office finances, and helping others in their roles when needed.

 

FEATURED RESOURCE

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See the Criminal Justice Process Chart

The criminal justice process can be a confusing process for those who are not familiar with the various steps that are involved. The three main stages are prosecution and pretrial services, adjudication, and post-conviction. Our office has the following chart available as a resource to show the various steps in the criminal justice process:

Download PDF

 

Prosecution

The prosecution phase of the criminal justice process occurs after an arrest has taken place once a warrant has been taken out after the initial investigation. The defendant will then have a first appearance hearing in front of a magistrate judge where it will be determined if they will receive a bond (bail) or not. A defendant may then have a preliminary hearing to show probable cause as to why the case should be sent to Superior Court. A prosecutor will review the case and will draft an accusation or an indictment. If an indictment is drafted it will be presented to the Grand Jury, who will determine if there was probable cause for an arrest and the charges. If the Grand Jury agrees, the case will then be “true billed,” and will move forward with prosecution. Once a case has been indicted or accused the defendant will be arraigned which takes place at the beginning of the adjudication phase of prosecution. 

 

Adjudication

When a defendant is arraigned, they can either enter a guilty plea or a not guilty plea. If the defendant enters a guilty plea, then the case will go to the sentencing phase. If the defendant enters a not guilty plea, then the case will continue with motions and move towards a trial. Motions are mainly evidentiary and are heard prior to trial. The defense attorney and prosecutor will discuss the case, which could result in a guilty plea prior to trial. If the defendant requests a trial, the court will move forward with a trial and the defendant could be found guilty or not guilty. If the defendant is found guilty at trial, the sentencing phase is next. Sentencing could result in either probation or prison, which is a part of the post-conviction stage of the criminal justice process. 

 

Post Conviction

Once a defendant has been sentenced they could be sent to prison or will serve time on probation. If the defendant receives prison time, they could be eligible for parole, if they meet the requirements to parole out. In the State of Georgia probationers and parolees are supervised by the Department of Community Supervision. If a defendant is sentenced to serve time in prison, victims can sign up to be notified by the Pardons and Parole board to be notified of their release, or if the defendant is up for parole. The Georgia Office of Victims Services website is https://pap.georgia.gov/georgia-office-victim-services. If you need assistance in signing up to be notified call our office to speak with one of our victim advocates, and they can help you.