Our Mission
To insure the fair Prosecution of felony cases in an ethical manner. To provide support through education and communication to Law Enforcement and the communities within the District.
To insure the fair Prosecution of felony cases in an ethical manner. To provide support through education and communication to Law Enforcement and the communities within the District.
Lynn Switzer
Mrs. Switzer graduated Texas Tech University with a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1997. After passing the bar exam she spent a short time in private practice and then swiftly moved on to public service. Mrs. Switzer has been a prosecuting attorney for several years, serving in 106th Judicial District as Assistant District Attorney and then again as an A.D.A in the 51st and 119th Districts which included the city of San Angelo. She was pleased to receive an offer to work as Assistant District Attorney in the 31st Judicial District in 2003, and moved here with her husband, J.D. In March of 2005 she was appointed by Governor Rick Perry and sworn in to serve as the District Attorney for the 31st District and has proudly served the people of Gray, Roberts, Wheeler, Hemphill and Lipscomb Counties since her appointment.
Mrs. Switzer is the first woman to serve as the 31st District Attorney. She has served on the Board of the Texas County and District Attorneys Association as the Region 1 Director. She is also a member of the State Bar College.
Since taking office she has worked to improve the services provided to victims of crimes, including children of abuse. She has worked with the help of The Bridge Advocacy Center and Pampa Regional Medical Center to establish a SANE (Sexual Abuse Nurse Examiner) program for the children of her jurisdiction. As a result of the implementation of this program children who have been abused no longer have to travel to Amarillo for examinations.
Recognizing that investigation of child abuse involves a variety of agencies, Mrs. Switzer has worked with The Bridge Advocacy Center, Tralee Crisis Center and Child Protective Services to establish a monthly case review program. Now all of the agencies sit down and work together in the investigation and resolution of child abuse cases.
Mrs. Switzer's office, along with the Attorney General's office provides victims with 24 hour hotline access to current information through the VINE program.
In keeping with her philosophy that education and information is key, Mrs. Switzer's office has developed the 31st District Attorney website. This is the newest in her list of projects. The website provides victims and the general public with news and information as well as a calendar so that interested persons will know what is taking place with criminal cases.
Mrs. Switzer has seen the need to improve the flow of cases through her office. As a result she and her staff have worked tirelessly to implement a state of the art computer system to track cases. The computer system is connected to the Gray County Sheriff's Department, the Gray County District Clerk's Office and the Gray County Clerk's Office. It has the capability to connect to the District Judge's office and the County Attorney's office as well. Her ultimate goal is to make her office "paperless".
Mrs. Switzer is fortunate to have forfeiture funds at her disposal. These funds are used to purchase equipment and to provide ongoing training to the law enforcement agencies within her jurisdiction. She regularly provides training both in-house as well as sending officers to outside courses in areas that directly affect her jurisdiction. Mrs. Switzer is also able to use these funds to offset some of her office expenditures.
