Challenges in the District Attorney’s Office
Time: Noon to 1:15 pm
Venue: WOW Hall
291 West 8th
Eugene, Oregon
97401
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We will meet at the WOW Hall, 291 W 8th. Learn more: https://wowhall.org/about-us/. Walk, ride a bike or take the bus. You may park on the street or in the parking lot of FOOD for Lane County's Dining Room, across 8th from the WOW Hall. A freewill donation acknowledging the Dining Room's generosity may be made at the meeting.
Lunch will be available for $15.
Topic:
Overworked, Underpaid. Understaffed. That is the day-to-day reality faced by the 24 lawyers working to bring criminals to justice in Lane County. The case numbers are staggering. In 2025, the office filed 4,840 criminal cases involving 3,525 victims. The advent of technology has made the work more time consuming; reviewing all the body camera footage takes substantial amounts of time.
District Attorney Chris Parosa describes the issue as a “looming crisis” and fears a mass exodus of prosecutors, similar to the 18 months in 2021 and 2022 when 16 prosecutors left the office.
In this program, our district attorney describes the scope of the problem and proposes possible solutions.
Speakers
Title: District Attorney
Organization: Lane County
Website: https://www.lanecounty.org/government/county_departments/district_attorney_s_office
Biography:
Biography is provided by the speaker and edited for length/proofreading
Chrisopher J. Parosa graduated from Oregon State University with a BS in political science and earned a JD from the University of Oregon School of Law. In November of 2004, he became a Deputy District Attorney in Josephine County, but left to return to the Willamette Valley and join the Lane County District Attorney’s Office in April of 2006. Following assignments on the General Felony and Major Crimes team, Chris became a felony Trial Team Leader before accepting the Chief Deputy District Attorney position in November of 2021. In May of 2024, Chris was elected District Attorney of Lane County. Due to the early retirement of his predecessor, Governor Kotek appointed Chris to become the District Attorney in June of 2024. In 2025, Chris was appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Oregon Senate to serve on the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. In addition to serving as the District Attorney, he is a member of the Board of Directors at Kids First, Lane County’s child advocacy center.
