Forsyth County Solicitor-General Donna Gopaul has announced she intends to seek election to a full four-year term in the office next year. Gopaul has been serving in the post since March, when she was appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal, who selected her to fill the vacancy created by former solicitor Leslie Abernathy-Maddox’s appointment as a State Court judge. The solicitor general's office prosecutes misdemeanor criminal cases in the county's State Court, as well as some Magistrate Court issues. In a statement, Gopaul said she has been “working hard every day to secure justice for the community, victims of crime and their impacted families.”“Having worked on both sides of the courtroom, I have used my experience to close cases in an expedited, fiscally responsible and fair manner,” she said. From 2008 to 2011, Donna Gopaul served as a senior assistant-solicitor with the local solicitor-general’s office. During that time, she was responsible for prosecuting more than 5,000 criminal cases, including DUI, domestic violence, traffic charges and vehicular homicide. From late 2011 to 2013, Gopaul managed her own private law practice in Fayetteville, where she specialized in estate planning, criminal defense and family law. Gopaul, who is a member of Rotary of South Forsyth and Leadership Forsyth, said she looks forward to “earning the trust and support of the people over the next year.”“My top goals will be to continue keeping residents protected, preventing crime and recidivism, engaging … communities and maintaining a stellar quality of life for everyone,” she said.