Each month the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office highlights one of its standout prosecutors. This month we would like to introduce you to Assistant District Attorney Chris McDonough. The Mobile native has been a prosecutor with our office for over 19 years and has worked in District Court, Juvenile Court, Circuit Court, and the White Collar Unit. He currently handles civil asset forfeitures, post-conviction requests for relief, and other special projects for the District Attorney. When Chris is not at the office he enjoys the outdoors, reading, and spending time with his family.
What is your favorite thing about living on the Gulf Coast? Mardi Gras and enjoying the area’s natural beauty
Do you have any hobbies or pastimes? Watching our children grow, our furry family, reading, and cycling.
Family? Pets? I have a wonderful wife. We are raising five teenagers and have two angels: John Michael and Hope Quin. We have two dogs: Molly and Mac and three cats: Penny, Pepper, and Pixie.
Professional career before MCDA? I clerked for the Honorable James C Wood and solo practitioner.
Why did you choose to become a prosecutor for MCDA? It chose me. I interned here one summer during law school and was immediately drawn to both the work and the people who work in the courthouse.
What motivates you to come to work each day? First, it is never boring. There is no limit to the “creativity” of those who prefer crime to an honest living. Each day presents opportunities to witness the heights and the depths of the human condition. Second, I enjoy, and take very seriously, the prosecutors obligation to seek the truth. Attorneys have a professional responsibility to seek the best possible outcome for their clients. Only prosecutors have a professional responsibility to seek the truth; and, our search for the truth does not end.
Advice to someone seeking a career within the criminal justice system? Your job is only a part of who you are. The work will be there after you are gone. Don’t let it become the most important thing in your life.
If you could pick one thing to change within our legal system what would it be Funding. The court system in Mobile County has been underfunded for years. Clerk’s offices that were once hives of activity are no now mostly silent. The work that was once done by dozens of people must now be done by a handful. But for technological advancements the current staffing levels would be untenable. The fact that the system continues to work at all is a tribute to the people who work in this building .
Years ago the State of Alabama determined that Mobile County needed more judges do to the number of cases being handled each year. In spite of that determination, the powers that be in Montgomery have failed to fund those additional judges. And this is in spite of the fact that the Mobile County courts send more money to Montgomery, in the form of court costs and fines, than they receive back in funding.
Failure to adequately fund the court system creates unnecessary delays which in this case truly is justice denied for the citizens of Mobile County.