Wake County DA seeks $603K for prosecutors, mental health court

Wake County is being asked to decide whether $603,000 for five assistant district attorneys, six legal assistants and a new mental health court can slow a growing backlog, or whether it is only a stopgap for a justice system Wiley Nickel says is already "pushed to the breaking point."

Nickel’s request covers the final six months of the fiscal year 2026-27 budget cycle, beginning Jan. 1, 2027, and comes as the Wake County Board of Commissioners prepares to announce a budget of more than $2.1 billion. He is also seeking a $2,000 locality supplement for each assistant district attorney and public defender in Wake County, and wants county leaders to ask Raleigh, Cary and Apex for additional help, though the amounts each city might contribute are not yet clear.

The staffing request lands against numbers that Nickel says show Wake is behind its peers. Wake County has about 1,257,235 residents, slightly more than Mecklenburg County’s 1,233,383, yet Nickel says Wake has 44 prosecutors compared with Mecklenburg’s 94. Wake prosecutors handle about 100,000 cases a year, and county data show nearly 6,000 low-level cases are already backlogged. In backing the request, Nickel says victims are waiting years rather than months for justice while repeat offenders remain on the streets. The county’s murder-case problems are not new either: officials said in 2022 that there were more homicides than ever, and before the pandemic Wake typically held one or two murder trials per month. Wake recorded 56 homicides in 2023, a record at the time.

Nickel is also pushing for a mental health court, which Wake County does not currently have. The North Carolina Judicial Branch says such courts are designed to connect repeat adult offenders who need mental health services with treatment, reduce recidivism and ease the court workload. Neighboring Durham and Orange counties already have those courts, and it can take years to launch one because of policy, staffing, funding and space needs. Nickel says the need is urgent, and his campaign has tied the proposal to violent crime, property theft, drug diversion and support for police.

Nickel won the Democratic primary for Wake County district attorney on March 3, 2026, and is running unopposed in the November general election, making him all but certain to replace longtime District Attorney Lorrin Freeman. His pitch now is straightforward: Wake County’s fast growth, rising violence and mounting case backlog are forcing an expensive choice, and taxpayers will want measurable results, not just another temporary fix.