Originally published by The Tahoe Daily Tribune on May 22, 2017
Christopher Walsh looked to Nevada County when searching for a place to raise his young family.
The newly hired No. 2 in the county District Attorney’s Office, Walsh will leave his Bay Area home within weeks and move to the Sierra foothills. His first day on the job is June 2.
“First of all, the area,” Walsh said of why he took the position with District Attorney Cliff Newell’s office. “My family and I love this area when we’ve been out here vacationing.”
Walsh, 35, has served since 2013 as a deputy district attorney in Santa Clara County. He’s worked felony and misdemeanor cases over his career, recently serving on Santa Clara’s homicide unit. Walsh also has served in sexual assault and gang units.
“We had some really good candidates apply, but Chris really kind of stood out.”Cliff NewellDistrict Attorney
Taking the place of Assistant District Attorney Joe Alexander, Walsh said his first priority is learning about the Nevada County office and its prosecutors.
“I want to learn and I want to listen,” Walsh said.
The new assistant district attorney said he wants to mentor younger prosecutors. He’s been involved in many trials, including the high-profile prosecution of a man convicted of a 1983 rape and murder.
“I’ve been a prosecutor my entire career,” Walsh said.
Graduating from Excelsior College in Albany, New York, Walsh gained his law degree in 2004 from the Oak Brook College of Law and was admitted to the bar that year.
Walsh has worked for prosecutors in Kings, Fresno and Santa Clara counties.
“We had some really good candidates apply, but Chris really kind of stood out,” Newell said. “He has a personality and a demeanor that I think will go really well with our community and the environment we’ve created in our office.”
