Ogeechee Judicial Circuit Chief Assistant District Attorney Daphne Jarriel Totten announces her candidacy for the position of Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney. Totten seeks to fill the seat currently occupied by Richard A. Mallard who has served as District Attorney since 2002 and has announced he does not intend to seek re-election. Mallard’s current term expires December 31, 2020. Totten intends to qualify on March 2, 2020 and seek election in the General Primary on May 19, 2020.
Daphne Jarriel Totten was born and raised in Tattnall County and has called Bulloch County her home for the last 20 years. Totten moved to Statesboro after she graduated from the University of Georgia in 1998 and Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law in 2002. Totten worked as an associate attorney with the law firm of Edenfield, Cox, Bruce and Classens, P.C. before joining the District Attorney’s Office in 2003.
Totten is excited about this next chapter and believes that she is qualified to become the Ogeechee Circuit’s District Attorney.
“During my 17 years as a career prosecutor, I have had the opportunity to prosecute every type of felony case the District Attorney’s Office handles. I have prosecuted some of the most violent, complex and high profile cases in our circuit, including cases involving charges of murder, armed robbery, crimes against women and children including sexually based offenses, and gang cases. I believe my years of courtroom trial experience qualify me for District Attorney. In addition, my duties as Chief Assistant have allowed me to assist the District Attorney in the day to day management of an office that includes 11 attorneys and a staff of 15 employees between two counties”, said Totten.
“If elected District Attorney of the Ogeechee Circuit, I will continue to help make the communities of the circuit safe and to provide justice to the victims of crimes. Our office will continue to have a positive, collaborative relationship with the law enforcement agencies in our circuit to ensure that violent criminals are aggressively prosecuted to the fullest extent. Additionally, I will continue the work our office has done over the years in helping grow our Circuit’s Accountability Courts, which include a Drug Court and Mental Health Court. Those courts assist those struggling with drug and mental health problems in a way that holds them accountable for their actions, but also avoids lengthy jail stays and saves the community money. I will strive to have an office that is both effective and efficient.”
Outside of her professional experience, Totten is a member of Statesboro Service League and serves as a board member for the Treutlen Home for Boys in Effingham County. She has served on other local boards including the Averitt Center for the Arts and the Boys and Girls Club of Bulloch County and danced in Statesboro’s Dancing with the Stars in 2014 when she partnered with former Bulloch County State Court Solicitor Joey Cowart to raise money for Safe Haven Domestic Violence Shelter.
Totten is a member of the Bulloch County Bar Association and served as President in 2004 and 2011. She is a 2006 graduate of Leadership Bulloch, a 2010 graduate of the Young Lawyers Leadership Academy for the State Bar of Georgia, a 2012 graduate of Leadership Southeast Georgia and a 2018 graduate of the Lynda B. Williamson Leadership Academy. She is also a recipient of the Statesboro Herald’s “40 under 40” in 2011 and received a Deen Day Smith Service to Mankind Award in 2013.
Totten is a member of Statesboro First Methodist Church and she and her husband Dirk A. Totten reside in Statesboro with their daughter, Kendall.
Totten seeks to become the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit’s first female District Attorney in the upcoming General Primary election on May 19, 2020.
