Terry Houck Prepares to Depart as NorCo DA

I sat down with outgoing NorCo DA Terry Houck last week. He will be leaving office once Steve Baratta is sworn in to replace him. But he was still ready for action. Inside his office, he printed out data as he spoke and had three separate cell phones lined up to his right so he could respond immediately to incoming calls. 

He's had several offers, but said he needs time to decompress after which he will decide whether he wants to continue as a prosecutor, a consultant or retire. 

Terry has devoted his professional career as both a cop and as prosecutor, so he's ruled out a return as a criminal defense attorney. 

He started out as a beat police officer on the streets of Philadelphia, but found it ironic that the last criminal charges he approved were theft charges against Hellertown's former police chief. 

The biggest case he tried as District Attorney was the Easton Cafe homicide, in which Jacob Holmes, Jr. was convicted of first degree murder. That case was tried in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of being seated in the tight confines of a jury box, jurors were scattered throughout the courtroom. Everyone donned face shields as well, and a separate room was set up so that the public could view the proceedings. It was the first homicide case tried throughout the state during the pandemic. 

Houck stated COVID was a challenge. His office remained open because he considered his first duty was an obligation to keep the people of Northampton County safe.  With stores and businesses closed, there was less reported crime, But Houck wonders whether a lot of crime, especially domestic violence, slipped through the cracks. 

In four short years, he accomplished a lot. He established a recordkeeping system for police reports written by county detectives, He instituted an on-call system for after hours police calls. During COVID, he established a mutual aid agreement among all county police departments in the event that a department lacked the manpower to conduct patrols. 

In addition to reacting to crime, he undertook proactive efforts to prevent crime from happening. This included Courageous Conversations between law enforcement and local civil rights leaders in the wake of the George Floyd homicide. He established a Major Crimes Task Force to prepare for catastrophic or complex crime. He started a full-time, self-sustaining Drug Task Force, He organized the PAIR (police assisting in recovery) program, in which an individual suffering from substance abuse could walk into a police department and ask for help. He joined the opioid suit, which has netted the county $2 million for drug abatement. He also conducted several gun buybacks. He participated in the mental health problem-solving court and began talks to institute a pre-trial drug court.

He was working on a pardon project under which convicted offenders could  have their records expunged after a period of good behavior and a demonstration that they turned their lives around.   

His biggest regret was failing to establish a separate Child Advocacy Center in Northampton County. He had the support of Northampton County Human Services and a hospital was in place, but that decision will now be made by incoming DA Steve Baratta.

He never felt any political pressure in his charging decision, which he said were based on the facts and the law. He pointed out that his duty was to represent the people of Northampton County. "It is the Commonwealth against a Defendant, not Terry Houck against a Defendant."