D.A. Hawk tries first case since absence

Dallas District Attorney Susan Hawk is joining prosecutors in the courtroom, putting current controversies on the back burner -- at least for a while.

Marietta Shaw, 24, was stabbed to death in October 2014.

A jury was seated in the trial of her accused killer Quavize Jones.

The 29-year-old defendant is accused of stabbing his girlfriend multiple times and nothing matters more to her mother, Melba Bennett, than putting jones away for good.

She says she was surprised to find out the county's top law enforcer, Susan Hawk, is on the prosecution team.

“At this point, I’m so shocked, I don’t know what to feel about it,” said Bennett. “I’m a little nervous about it, but deep in my heart I feel like we have a winning case. So I don't have no doubt about our victory, regardless of whether she's on the team or not.”

The embattled district attorney will be sitting second chair.

Her tasks include presiding over jury selection, helping lead attorneys and questioning witnesses.

She may also present the opening statement or closing argument.

It is her first case to personally prosecute as D.A. and comes weeks after returning from a leave of absence for treatment of severe depression.

Hawk politely declined requests for an interview.