Editor: Shannon Cottongame
October 5, 2022
District Attorney Mark Pratt was presented the 2022 Lone Star Prosecutor Award for the State of Texas by the Texas District and County Attorneys Association (TDCAA). The annual conference was held recently in Corpus Christi with over 1,000 in attendance.
TDCAA is a statewide association of over 3,300 elected and assistant prosecutors in Texas dedicated to serving Texas prosecutors and their staff, as well as attorneys in government representation.
According to TDCAA, the Lone Star Prosecutor Award is intended “to recognize the efforts of a prosecutor who has demonstrated excellence through their trial, advocacy, appellate advocacy, or other governmental representation, civil or criminal, that a person in a district or county attorney office may perform, who has advanced justice in their community and has distinguished himself or herself in the last year.”
Pratt thanked the members and staff of TDCAA for the award and recognized the significant contributions of the members of his own staff: Office Manager Angie Williams, secretaries Stacy Hill and Linda Cain, Crime Victims Coordinator Katie Cole and Investigator Coy West, along with assistant district attorneys Sherri Wagner and Ken Dies, both of whom he said are excellent prosecutors.
District Attorney Pratt was commended by the speaker for his outstanding success in felony jury trials and said he considered the additional regular duties he performs— including case intake, grand jury presentation of cases, prosecution of probation revocations and work with law enforcement and victims of violent crimes and property crimes—to be just as important to the administration of justice.
He credited the love and support of his wife Kara and family, a great staff and the good citizens of Hill County for the results produced by the Hill County District Attorney’s Office.
He also thanked his friend and colleague Hill County Attorney David Holmes and expressed his appreciation for District Judge Lee Harris.
Pratt is in his tenth year as district attorney and previously served as county attorney from 1993 through 2012. He has handled a number of important appellate cases, including a groundbreaking case before the Court of Criminal Appeals that resulted in changes to the law statewide to allow search warrant affidavits to be obtained through electronic means, benefiting rural areas in particular.
“It has been an honor to have the opportunity to serve my fellow Hill County citizens as district attorney, and I look forward to continuing to work hard to see that justice is done,” Pratt said.
The Lakelander 