A former Lassen County District Attorney has come out of retirement from that kind of work as the new Assistant D-A for Nevada County. Bob Burns served four consecutive terms before retiring in 2014. Most recently, he’d been that county’s chief civil adviser. But he indicates he’s missed being a prosecutor…

click to listen to Bob Burns

As an Assistant District Attorney, Burns says he also has a lot of management responsibility, helping take the load off new District Attorney Jesse Wilson. He oversees the team of Deputy D-A’s, as well as the Victim Witness branch. The prison realignment law that has sent many non-violent offenders to county jails has also been an adjustment…

click to listen to Bob Burns

Burns takes over for Chris Walsh, who resigned when Wilson took over for Cliff Newell, in July, to serve at least the remainder of Newell’s term through 2022. Newell decided to retire early. Wilson had left the Nevada County D-A’s office for the El Dorado County office, partly due to philosophical differences with Walsh. Wilson had criticized Nevada County’s low conviction rate during the interview process with the Board of Supervisors.