Contributed Photo: Graham County Deputy County Attorney Garet Kartchner was presented with the Rising Star Award by the APAAC.
Contributed Article
PHOENIX – On June 24, 2021, at its annual summer conference, the Arizona Prosecuting Attorney Advisory Council (APAAC) awarded Garet Kartchner of the Graham County Attorney’s Office the Rising Star Award.
APAAC was created by the Arizona Legislature in 1977. Although APAAC provides a variety of services to prosecutors, the primary mission of APAAC is to coordinate and provide training and education to prosecutors throughout Arizona. APAAC currently serves approximately 885 full-time state, county, and municipal prosecutors.
Annually, APAAC recognizes individual prosecutors for their commitment, diligence, and success in the various areas of prosecution. Mr. Kartchner was nominated for the Rising Star Award by Graham County Attorney L. Scott Bennett. Each of the 15 Arizona County Attorneys, as well as the Attorney Generals Office and several city prosecution offices, had the opportunity to nominate a candidate for this award. The Rising Star Award recognizes exceptional contributions in the area of prosecution by a younger attorney just beginning his or her career as an attorney. Kartchner was selected as the single recipient of the award for 2021 by the APAAC Executive Council.
Garet was nominated for his commitment to the prosecution of drug cases. Focusing specifically on fentanyl sales cases, Kartchner has already established himself as a gifted attorney.
“We are extremely lucky to have Garet and he truly deserved to be the winner, said Graham County Attorney L. Scott Bennett. “He was up against every young prosecutor in the state, and the fact that he was given the award shows how gifted he is. Despite being relatively new to the practice of law, he does not allow anyone to push him around and he has my trust as a prosecutor. It is always nice when someone as smart and skilled as Garet is part of the team.”
Garet, who has worked for the Graham County Attorney’s Office for just more than18 months, prosecutes felony and misdemeanor cases and is currently designated as the Drug Crimes prosecutor for the office.
