Governor Rick Perry has made his choice for a new Kaufman County District Attorney. He chose from among four candidates who interviewed for the position last week. Kaufman County Court at Law Judge Erleigh Norville Wiley was appointed by Perry to serve out the remainder of slain District Attorney Mike McLelland's term, which will expire in 2014. The appointment is dependent upon Senate confirmation.
Governor Rick Perry has made his choice for a new Kaufman County District Attorney. He chose from among four candidates who interviewed for the position last week. Kaufman County Court at Law Judge Erleigh Norville Wiley was appointed by Perry to serve out the remainder of slain District Attorney Mike McLelland's term, which will expire in 2014. The appointment is dependent upon Senate confirmation.
Judge Wiley, 49, grew up in Kaufman County, graduated from Kaufman High School, and lives in Forney. She is married and has two children. Wiley helped save her husband's life by donating her kidney to him in 2008, after he had spent years on dialysis. Her mother, the late Fern Norville, is the namesake for the non-profit A. Fern Norville Center which helps children and young adults who may have been abused, neglected, abandoned, or displaced from their families.
Wiley worked in the Dallas County District Attorney's Office for 14 years and was a Supervising Attorney in the Juvenile Division. She returned to Kaufman County in 2003 and ran for the Judge of County Court at Law position. She was elected and has served in that capacity for 10 years.
Once confirmed by the Senate, Wiley will take over for interim D.A. Brandi Fernandez. Fernandez had also interviewed for the D.A. position and has served as the interim district attorney since April 1, just two days after the murders of Mike and Cynthia McLelland. The deaths of the McLellands and of Kaufman County A.D.A. Mark Hasse two months prior to that, are still under investigation and no arrests have been made.
Mayor Darren Rozell of Forney told inForney.com, “Judge Wiley is visible in the Forney community and she is an asset to Kaufman County. I think the governor has made a great choice.”