District Attorney's Office

Georgia counties are divided into 49 judicial circuits, each of which has a District Attorney and at least one superior court judge. Taliaferro County is part of the Toombs Judicial Circuit  which also includes Glascock, Lincoln, McDuffie, Warren and Wilkes Counties. Our district attorney is Bill Doupé and his office is in Thomson.

The Taliaferro County Sheriff's Office works closely with the District Attorney who represents the State of Georgia in the prosecution of felony crimes. This representation involves assisting victims of crimes in a variety of ways (See the Toombs Circuit DA website for details), attending Grand Juries and serving as their legal advisor, conducting jury trials for those criminal cases that do not plead guilty, and representing the State in drug forfeiture cases by seeking to condemn profits made by drug dealers.

The District Attorney's Office gives special attention to cases involving violent and serious crimes, such as homicides, robbery, sex crimes, crimes against children, violence against persons, and drug offenses, as well as repeat offenders. Persons who commit these crimes represent the greatest threat to public safety and must receive the principal focus of our efforts.

On an ongoing basis, the DA's office must also provide effective prosecution of other felonies and misdemeanors in order to preserve public respect for and confidence in the criminal justice system. For example, domestic violence and DUIs require considerable attention by the District Attorney's Office.

The District Attorney also represents the State when criminal convictions are appealed from the Superior and Juvenile Courts to either the Georgia Court of Appeals or the Georgia Supreme Court. The District Attorney also prosecutes both civilly and criminally parents of children that fail to pay child support. This unit has collected millions of dollars in support for children in Taliaferro County and the rest of the circuilt from their absent parents. Throughout all of these duties, the District Attorney's basic function is to serve Justice in all cases.

District Attorney Bill Doupe

Bill Doupé was elected to serve as the Toombs Circuit District Attorney in November 2016 and took office on January 1, 2017.  Prior to his election, Bill served for more than 18 years as a Senior Assistant District Attorney for this circuit.  Bill has 28 years of criminal trial experience and has tried a wide variety of cases, including murder, as both a prosecutor and a defense lawyer. Bill firmly believes that what a prosecutor does in the courtroom can and will make our communities a safer place. Bill is active in the community and encourages all of his employees to become involved with the citizens of this circuit outside of the courtroom. Bill has served as a youth sports coach, participant in various youth improvement programs and is the Chairman of the Board for University Hospital McDuffie and is also a board member for University Health Care Systems in Augusta. Bill lives in McDuffie County with his wife Kit and youngest son.