Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rodgers Gets Defensive

No longer will Danny Rodgers' booming voice be heard in courtrooms arguing to put a defendant in jail.

Rodgers, who was the 8th Judicial District Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, has swapped sides of the courtroom. His new position is on the side of the defendant as the public defender for Hempstead and Nevada counties.

Currently, Rodgers is going over the cases in both counties to see what the situation is, and is talking with those facing trial to see what's going on with them and their cases.

He said the situation in both counties isn't as bad as he'd thought originally.

Burnout was the reason Rodgers gave for changing sides, going from the prosecution to the defense.

In 1997, he said, there were three major trials he was involved with. The year began with him working on the DeShay Wilson rape case, which resulted in a life sentence for the defendant.

Then the Joe Louis Dansby double murder case was tried, with the state getting a death sentence for its efforts.

This was followed by the Toby Craig murder trial, which saw Craig sentenced to 40 years for first degree murder.

The pace, however, was killer for Rodgers, who said he was in court an average of four days a week, sometimes having to be in two counties in the same day on different cases.

"It got to where one person couldn't handle it all," he said. "I was working 60 to 80 hours a week."

The Dansby trial was particularly difficult for Rodgers as he put in 14 to 15 hours a day, six days a week for three weeks preparing for the complexities of the trial.

As deputy prosecutor, Rodgers worked in Nevada and Lafayette counties, for several circuit judges along with working with the South Central Drug Task Force.

He said 1997saw the need for a full time prosecutor in Nevada County alone.

"I got burned out," he said. "It was working me to death trying to make a living. I felt it was time for a change and I'd done all I could as a prosecutor."

So, he stepped to the other side of the criminal fence, where he will work to help those who can't afford their own attorneys find justice in the court system.

"I think it will be better now," Rodgers said. "Law enforcement will have a deputy prosecutor in Nevada County and Lafayette County." Another deputy prosecutor has been appointed for Lafayette County.

The Rodgers clan supports his decision to change sides. "They're aware," he said. "They've seen what I've gone through the last few years to keep up with the case load as deputy prosecutor. The change is a relief."

Rodgers will be doing nothing but working as a public defender either. He will be practicing no civil or criminal law on the side.