February 5, 2024

Lt. Colonel Casey Lingan will be heading to a criminal justice academy, but not as an instructor as he frequently did in the past. Instead, he will be a student, learning and practicing alongside other law enforcement recruits in preparation for his position as a high-level Sheriff’s deputy. To understand his unusual journey, we will take a brief look back at his accomplishments over the past 25 years.

Lingan attended the University of Virginia, graduating in 2000. He started as a pre-med major but switched to psychology in his sophomore year. “After taking a class in ‘Psychology and Law,’ I was inspired to pursue law school,” he says. He attended Georgetown Law, graduating in 2004 and passing the Virginia State Bar Exam that same year.

Although he wanted to be a U.S. Attorney (federal prosecutor), he applied to be a local prosecutor to get experience. In the meantime, he also applied to be an FBI agent. While that process was underway, he scored an interview with Ray Morrogh, the Fairfax County Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney who had just finished the 2004 D.C. area sniper trial. Following that interview, Morrogh referred Lingan to Commonwealth’s Attorney Bob Horan for a follow-up. Lingan was at a Washington football game when he got the call. He was offered the job as a county prosecutor, which he happily accepted!

“Awesome” is how he describes the job that he came to love. During his time there, he rose to the level of Chief Deputy to Morrogh, who succeeded Horan as the Commonwealth’s Attorney in 2007 until 2019. Lingan was instrumental in the creation of a mental health docket. From his years of experience, he understood that incarceration should not be the default solution for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. In lieu of traditional punishment, the docket diverts participants with a diagnosed mental illness away from the criminal justice system and into treatment. Participants are required to receive ongoing mental health treatment and intensive supervision. The program’s four phases can range from at least 12 months to as long as two years or more.

Lingan left the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney when a change at the top came in the 2019 election. Having already worked together on numerous issues, Sheriff Kincaid offered Lingan the position of General Counsel for the Sheriff’s Office. His responsibilities included providing legal advice on employment issues and compliance with state, federal and county laws and regulations. He represented the office in civil service responses and hearings. He provided legal training to the agency and its employees. He reviewed FOIA requests and approved responses. He served as an advisor and public relations assistant to the Sheriff. He also represented the agency in meetings with the judges and court personnel, prosecutors, defense attorneys and police officers.

“As a former prosecutor,” says Lingan, “I worked with law enforcement officers for many years, and I have tremendous respect for the job that they do. I won’t take the criminal justice academy training lightly, and I don’t think it will be easy.”

One of his goals as a lieutenant colonel is to ensure that everyone in the agency is operating as one, not in silos. “We all make decisions together in support of the Sheriff and the agency’s mission,” he explains. “We must create more opportunities for staff to retain good talent and not lose people to other agencies. We must support staff so they can work safely and effectively, and so we can alleviate the need for mandatory overtime.”

Kathryn Ann Duffy Pavluchuk, a former prosecutor, succeeds Lingan in the position of General Counsel for the Sheriff's Office. 

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