County Attorney's Office

Our Mission

The mission of the Nicollet County Attorney's Office is to seek justice, promote public safety by fairly and effectively prosecuting crimes, and to represent the legal interests of Nicollet County through quality legal representation.  

Duties & Responsibilities

Prosecution

A county attorney in Minnesota is responsible for the prosecution of all felony crimes committed by adults in the county as well as lesser crimes in the townships. The county attorney also prosecutes all juveniles who commit crimes regardless of the seriousness of the offense. The responsibility of prosecution includes providing support and assistance to victims of crimes.

Legal Adviser to County Board & County Departments

The county attorney serves as the legal adviser for the Board of Commissioners and departments and represents the county in all civil litigation in which the county has no insurance coverage.

Legal Representative of Health & Human Services

The county attorney represents Health & Human Services in numerous legal matters including the following:

• Actions to protect abused and neglected children and vulnerable adults
• Actions to involuntarily commit for treatment people who are mentally ill, chemically dependent, or severely cognitively challenged
• Actions to obtain and enforce child support obligations
• Actions to establish the paternity of a child

Limitation of Authority to Provide Services

Neither the county attorney nor her staff are allowed to represent, provide legal advice to, or provide legal services to private citizens. Among the areas that are considered private civil matters are: Boundary line disputes, collection of judgments, conservatorships, dissolutions, landlord/tenant disputes, orders for protection, private covenants, probate, wills, and writs of execution.