There have been a few changes in the 19th Judicial District District Attorneys Office related to General Sessions Court in Montgomery County. Hansel McCadams retired in December 2015. Mr. McCadams has previously been the elected District Attorney for the 24th Judicial District, but lost reelection in 2014. He started working in Montgomery County General Sessions Court in September 2014. He turned out to be great to work with. Those of us that worked with him hated to see go.
Replacing him will be Michael Pugh. According to the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility's website, Mr. Pugh graduated from Nashville School of Law and has been licensed in Tennessee since 2002, meaning he has some experience under his belt. To the best of my knowledge, he has spent his time in private practice. How does that mean he will do as a prosecutor? Right now I guess that is anyone's guess. Time will tell.
We still have Robert Koewler as an assistant District Attorney in Montgomery County General Sessions Court. Occasionally we also have the rotation of Assistant DAs that practice primarily in Circuit Court, that come down to the second floor to help out when they are short handed.
Things have gotten somewhat tougher here lately. Settlement proposals have become harsher. Hopefully Mr. Pugh will put justice first ahead of the urge to win at all costs that many starting prosecutors often feel.