Bedford District Attorney Resigns

Less than one month after facing harsh criticism from a judge for her handling of recent cases, Leslie Childers-Potts stepped down as Bedford County district attorney on Friday, Feb. 10.

Childers-Potts has served as the county’s elected DA since 2019, after a year as interim DA after the resignation of Bill Higgins following his arrest on obstruction and other charges related to abusing the power of his office.

Childers-Potts had previously announced that she would not seek another term but elected to leave her position before her term expires, saying it was best for everyone for her to walk away immediately.

“I believe stepping down is the right thing for me to do; it is the right thing for my family, and it is the right thing for the county,” Childers-Potts said in a statement announcing her resignation.

Childers-Potts said she has worked in the Bedford County court system for nearly 20 years, 15 as a county employee.

“It has been an honor to serve the citizens of my home county,” she said. “I will be forever grateful to those individuals who have kept me in their prayers while I served as the District Attorney.”

Childers-Potts tenure as DA has been plagued by staffing issues with the resignations of all her assistants, and courtroom missteps that resulted in three mistrials in less than nine months and two cases where charges were dismissed on double jeopardy grounds.

Childers-Potts said that staff resignations have left her the only prosecutor in the DA’s office and because of that some cases have been referred to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office for prosecution.

Following the latest mistrial and double jeopardy ruling in the December trial of Nathan D. Jackson on endangering the welfare of a child and DUI charges, President Judge Travis Livengood issued a nine-page opinion that was critical of Childers-Potts and her performance as DA.

Livengood said there was a “pattern of reckless prosecutorial conduct” in the DA’s office and that the conduct is “detrimental to the proper functioning of the criminal justice system and harmful to the public’s trust in its courts.”

With Childers-Potts resignation, and no assistant DAs to take the role, Livengood named Dwight G. Diehl in the interim. Diehl will serve until January 2024 when a newly elected DA will be sworn in.

Deihl served as Bedford County DA from 2000 to 2004 before losing his seat to Higgins in the 2003 election.