Duties Of Platte County Attorney

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By John Miller

The experience of a Platte County Attorney is inclusive of law enforcement, as the role includes the prosecuting of criminal cases. The Attorney is an elected official of a four-year term in office. This role is an extremely busy one and anyone who runs for this office, or elected will definitely benefit from having an energetic demeanor.

Types of cases prosecuted by the County Attorney's office are criminal in nature and involve felonies, and misdemeanors. The office also handles infraction crimes such as being in possession of a small amount of marijuana, which is punishable as less than a misdemeanor. Additionally infraction crimes are crimes committed by persons who were not aware that a crime was being committed. The punishment is generally a warning.

Duties handled by the County Attorney are many. From serving as the County Coroner, in evaluating suspicious and wrongful deaths, to following up on the continued writing of checks when an account owner is aware that there are insufficient funds available for payment, but continues to write checks anyway.

Additional functions of this office include overseeing such departments as child welfare, and support. Juvenile delinquency cases, back taxes associated with property and foreclosures, and the County Attorney decides if a case warrants prosecution or not. If prosecution is deemed warranted, an arrest is made of the suspect if not already in custody.

The County Attorney's office actually must determine if there is probable cause in relation to a crime to go after a suspect in prosecuting them.

It is understandable that it has both prosecuting and defense attorneys at its disposal in trying criminal cases. A drawback is that most alleged suspects of a crime are indigent or unable to pay a private attorney to defend them, and must rely on a court appointed attorney. They do not trust having an attorney from the prosecutor's office defending them.

Other functions of the office oversee the maintenance of the Highway patrol, Motor Vehicle department, and election of the Commissioner to office. As well as watching over Veteran Affairs, the facilitation of Detentions, General and Victims assistance, and the Probation office. They also manage city emergency criteria.

Besides the County Attorney, the other positions that staff this office are the Chief Deputy and his deputies, and the child support department is there as well as the department that handles the writing of bad checks. There are two positions for office manager, and one office clerk.

The workload in attribution to staffing seems to be more than the staff can handle, yet, thanks to great organizing all the work is processed efficiently. The departments works well together in a team environment as they conduct business in a methodical and thorough manner.

The red tape involved is heavy as the paper trail is deep. Though turnaround is slow, accuracy is more important and is the main goal of the departments. In keeping everything organized and enforcing strict procedures, everyone stays focused and abreast of departmental policies.

The experience of a Platte County Attorney is admirable, in keeping the organization running smoothly. The functions of the many departments require strong leadership in maintaining a dignified and humanitarian aspect for all involved, in light of the expectations of those who have elected the individual into office.

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