After holding his new position for just seven days, Barton County Attorney Levi Morris has announced a change in filing criminal complaints that he says will save 35 working days between his staff and law enforcement officers in the county.

Morris told Barton County Commissioners Monday that the change involves the way criminal complaints are finalized. In the past, once a complaint had been processed, the officer who had originally filed the complaint was required to come to the County Attorney’s Office to sign the document. Now Morris says an attorney in the office will handle that responsibility.

Morris says he got the idea from other counties where he has practiced law in the past.

Levi Morris Audio

Morris estimates that this one simple change will save his staff a combined seven working days a year and law enforcement 28 days a year since officers will not be taken off the streets to make a stop at the Barton County Courthouse.

In his first few days in office, Morris has focused on the administrative side of his job before settling into the prosecution of cases.

Levi Morris Audio

Last year, the Barton County Attorney’s Office filed 678 criminal complaints, 94 of which were juvenile cases.