FAYETTEVILLE — Matt Durrett, assistant prosecutor, announced he's a candidate for prosecuting attorney.
“For the past 15 years I have had the privilege of working as a prosecutor. It’s a job I love,” Durrett said. “I love the work and I love being able to say I represent the people of the state of Arkansas.”
Durrett said experience and judgment are his biggest assets.
“First and foremost is experience,” Durrett said. “You’ve got to have knowledge of the system, it’s more than just handling cases.”
Profile
Matt Durrett
4th Judicial District Prosecutor
Age: 40
Residency: Fayetteville
Family: Wife, Shelly; two daughters
Employment: Deputy prosecutor
Education: University of Arkansas, bachelor’s degree, political science, 1995; University of Arkansas School of Law, juris doctorate, 1998.
Military Experience: None
Political Experience: None
Durrett has served for six years as chief deputy prosecutor in the 4th Judicial District, which includes Washington and Madison counties.
He opted to run for the office after John Threet decided to seek a circuit court judgeship.
“I think I bring a sense of fairness and good judgment to the job. What’s different about our job is most lawyers’ success is defined as wins and losses, we don’t have that luxury,” Durrett said. “Our job is to make sure that the right thing is done, that justice is done, regardless of the result.”
Durrett said sometimes that means not prosecuting someone is the right thing to do.
“A lot of the job is making decisions at a moment’s notice,” Durrett said. “And, we’re endowed with a great deal of authority and discretion, you’ve got to have somebody that knows how to properly use that power.”
Durrett said he’s comfortable supervising an office with about 40 employees and a budget of about $2.5 million.
A new state law changed prosecutor positions to nonpartisan and moved the election to the primary with nonpartisan judicial offices. The election is set for May 20. The salary is $120,000.
Durrett is a past president of the Washington County Bar Association and was a member of the Arkansas Bar Association’s house of delegates for six years.
He's an adjunct professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law, a trial competition coach and a certified law enforcement instructor.
“This office has done a lot of good and I want to make sure it continues to do a lot of good,” Durrett said.