Jan M. Bennetts
PROSECUTOR
I celebrated 20 years as a deputy prosecutor in the Office of the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney in October, 2014. In November, 2014 I was unanimously selected and then appointed as the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney to fill Greg Bower’s remaining term. Promoting community safety has been my life’s work and I am a tireless advocate for the people of Ada County and for crime victims.
Throughout my career, I have handled a wide variety of cases in Ada County Courtrooms. I have ushered the families of homicide victims, child victims of molestation, and adult victims of sexual assault, through the emotionally harrowing experience of trial and have witnessed firsthand the aftermath a violent homicide leaves in the lives of the survivors. During my tenure on the domestic violence caseload, my interest in victim services crystallized into a passion. Those experiences drove me to develop additional victim services as well as ensuring cases were successfully prosecuted.
I was an instrumental leader in the creation of Ada County’s FACES Family Justice Center, the vertical Domestic Violence Unit in the Prosecutor’s Office and the Ada County Domestic Violence Court. Domestic Violence Court operates with a specialized team of judges, prosecutors, public defenders, probation officers, and a court coordinator. This Court greatly improved the Ada County criminal justice system’s response to domestic violence. In 2004, I created DV CORP within the Prosecutor’s Office, which is an educational and support opportunity for victims.
Creating and implementing these programs advanced three of my most important goals in domestic violence cases: 1) offender accountability and justice for the community; 2) making the system more manageable for victims; and, 3) identifying and accessing the necessary rehabilitation for defendants. My ultimate mission is to end violence in Ada County homes, which will keep victims and their children safe from future violence.
I have been recognized by organizations as varied as the National District Attorneys Association, the Idaho Victim Witness Association and the Idaho Business Review, for my tireless service to the people of Ada County.
On becoming your Ada County Prosecuting Attorney, I am deeply honored for the opportunity to continue serving the people of Ada County. I will not only lead this Office’s Civil Division as we engage in a wide spectrum of government and civil practice on behalf of Ada County, but I will continue devoting my attention and focus on fulfilling my mission of keeping our community safe and seeing that justice is done.
Thank you.
Jan M. Bennetts
Ada County Prosecutor