District Attorney Proudly Welcomes the Return of Native Son Geoffrey Alls to the Chatham County Courthouse

 A native of Savannah and a graduate of Beach High School, Attorney Geoffrey Alls has returned to his hometown to assist with the ever-growing backlog of cases and support the important work of criminal justice reform.

The son of a prominent Savannah civil rights activist and attorney, Mr. Howard Alls, Geoffrey inherited a healthy appetite for challenging racial injustice. As an honor student and graduate of Morehouse College, he researched and wrote on racial sentencing disparities. At the University of Georgia, School of Law he focused on assisting the indigent and underprivileged through his work with the Civil Clinic’s Public Interest Practicum, the Criminal Defense Clinic, and community mentoring projects such as Academics in Athens, and Project Safe Campus.

He started his legal career defending the indigent in the Macon Circuit Public Defenders office which had one of the highest poverty rates in the State. The inequities he encountered as a Public Defender crystalized his belief that to combat the systemic issues facing the criminal justice system, it would have to be done from the inside. He then took a position as an Assistant District Attorney in Chatham County where he primarily prosecuted DUIs, violent crimes and other serious offenses.

After spending some time in private practice with Charles Bell & Associates, Mr. Alls moved to Augusta, Georgia and served as a Senior Staff Attorney in the Office of General Counsel where he advised and represented government officials on civil and criminal matters concerning the city. From there, he went on to become the Chief Assistant to the first African American District

Attorney in the Augusta Judicial Circuit, where he supervised other prosecutors and established the Major Crimes Division.

Not only does Mr. Alls bring a wealth of professional experience to the office, he also recognizes that community activism and outreach is a vital part of public service. Alls is a co-founder of Urban Stem Academy, a 501(c)3 that focuses on empowering at-risk youth through the power of design, technology, and hands-on building. He also co-founded “Know Your Rights Savannah” an organization that helps foster positive relationships with law enforcement and the community through open communication on citizen’s rights and police encounters. He also helped to organize the Aiken Citizen Review Board, which maintains oversight over police officer misconduct and citizen complaints.

Alls is one of the founding members of Project Impact Augusta an organization that mentors high school boys in Augusta. He has been a featured speaker and panelist for several non-profit organizations, including Youth Futures Authority, Teen Maze, Mega-genesis, USC Aiken, and Savannah State University. Alls was selected by the State Bar to serve on the Board of the Institute of Continuing Legal Education and now serves on the Bar’s Committee to Promote Inclusion.

The timing of Alls’ return comes at a time when district attorneys’ offices across the nation battle to find and retain qualified prosecutors and key personnel. Florida State's Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundel stated that she lost 80 prosecutors in the past year due to low pay. The northern regions are not much better off. “This year alone, 36 have left the Brooklyn district attorney’s office and 44 Manhattan’s. At least 28 have left the Bronx and the nine Staten Island assistant district attorneys who have left this year represented about 10 percent of that office’s prosecutorial staff1.” According to Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clarke, the reason is sad, but simple. The work-life balance is simply unbearable. Post-Covid caseloads are exploding as courtrooms begin to reopen and return to traditional in-person prosecution. Also, government pay- which was already subpar as compared to private sector jobs- does not compensate prosecutors for the added stresses and pressures of prosecuting in a post-Covid reality.

This trend is not unique to large metro areas either and his, perhaps, more sharply felt in smaller jurisdictions like Chatham County. As some courts have placed as many as 71 cases on a trial docket and ADAs are now covering dockets at the jail, many who love the work are because of overwhelm and burnout to pursue jobs where they can work remotely for more pay and less stress.

Despite these trends, Alls is not deterred. He is glad to return home to give back to the community that gave him so much. Various citizens and community leaders are even happier for his return. “Geoffrey’s return to Savannah Chatham County is a definite positive for this community. In a time when violent crime, mass incarceration, and gun violence is on the rise, it is important to have talented professionals in the courthouse and in the community to be role models and to uphold the standard of justice, fairness and equity for Chatham County residents”, said Rev. Thurmond Tillman of First African Baptist Church.

Geoffrey will be covering various assignments and projects in the District Attorneys Office to include, ARPA Caseload Reduction, the Neighborhood Association Project and Show Us Your Guns.