"I'm not going to be a token."
This is what Larry Jegley remembers Teresa Howell telling him a few years ago when he asked if she would accept a spot on the board of the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association and a nomination to become secretary-treasurer.
"I told her that this wasn't symbolic," says Jegley, prosecuting attorney for the 6th Judicial District. "We thought she was a really fine person to help represent the association, and that's just what she has done."
Earlier this month Howell, a Malvern native in her second term as prosecuting attorney for the 7th Judicial District, started her one-year term as the group's president. It's the first time a woman has held the office since the association was founded in 1974.
"I wasn't thinking about it in terms of 'it's about time,'" says Howell, who notes that seven of Arkansas' 28 district prosecuting attorneys are women. "Until 10 or 15 years ago we had very few women elected prosecutors, now we have a group. A woman being on the board or being president [of the prosecuting attorney's association] is a natural progression."
Howell is "a very intelligent, analytical lawyer," Jegley says. "I'm tickled that she is serving as our president, and I think she is going to do a great job."
The association helps prosecutors with professional development, is a liaison between prosecutors and government officials, and works to educate the public about criminal problems in the state.
"My goals are to encourage our prosecutors to actively seek open communication with our legislators," says Howell, who recently worked on a committee with the state Legislature to review grant applications for law enforcement agencies to purchase body cameras and other equipment. "There are so many issues coming up nationwide. We've got to address this changing climate in our criminal justice system."
A new program she's particularly excited about is PAWS for Justice, which provides certified facility dogs to help young victims feel comfortable in court.
"That has been approved, and we have one dog already," Howell says. "If we have a case where we have a child victim, and we think they might benefit from having a facility dog with them, we can apply for that.
"Things like this, I think, will help foster good relationships with our communities."
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