Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Deputy prosecutor takes oath

Its been a long time coming.

Those were the words of

newly appointed prosecutor

and local attorney Phillip

Harris just hours before taking

the oath of office Monday,

Sept. 8.

Harris, a native of Prescott,

is a graduate of the Prescott

High School Class of 1999. He

is the son of Fred and Debbie

Harris, earned his bachelors

degree in Tennessee and his

law degree at the University of

Arkansas at Little Rock.

But Harris said the course

of his life wasnt as smooth as

it sounds.

He worked for about two

years managing a restaurant

and soda fountain in

Arkadelphia before making the

decision to return to school in

search of his law degree.

Education is vital to success,

he said.

Harris said that going into

law was just one of those

things.

I like logic and reason, he

said, adding that those are fundamental

cornerstones of the

legal profession.

Besides that, law is a way to

serve and guide a community,

Harris said.

Its an opportunity to help

people, he said. Law is a

career that benefits more than

yourself.

According to Harris, the

legal system of a community

steers that community.

The decision to join the

team of prosecutors locally is,

according to Harris, one more

way to give back to the community.

Its a public service, he

said. Youve got to get out

there and try to give back a little

bit.

A native of Prescott, Harris

said he wasnt certain where he

would eventually find a job,

but said he always planned to

return to Nevada County if

possible.

He said many of the communitys

best and brightest

have gone on to live and work

in other places. That, according

to Harris, means the community

could become a place people

dont want to be.

I figured I had a part to

play, he said.