DeKalb County’s top prosecutor found himself in the eye of the storm in 2013.

District Attorney Robert James Jr. created much of the whirlwind himself: boldly pursuing murder and conspiracy charges against Andrea Sneiderman, prosecuting high-ranking school district officials for rigging construction contracts and convening a special purpose grand jury to investigate public corruption, which ultimately led to the indictment of the county’s most powerful politician, CEO Burrell Ellis.