Assistant County Attorney I

Job Summary

Administers and enforces the laws of the State of Minnesota and its political subdivisions. The attorney in this position may be assigned to either a criminal caseload or a civil caseload. If assigned to the criminal division the attorney will prosecute all levels of crime committed in Chisago County, including misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor and felony matters, as well as traffic and other petty misdemeanor offenses. In the civil division, the attorney may be responsible for representing the interests of Chisago County in matters in which the county may be involved, including but not limited to child protection (CHIPS and Permanency) as well as child support enforcement, adult protection matters, licensing appeals, tax appeals, contracts, and condemnation actions.

The attorney will possess a working knowledge of the law and will exercise significant independent judgment to reach just and equitable outcomes, while upholding the laws and Constitutions of the State of Minnesota and United States of America. The attorney will be expected to manage a full case load by reviewing reports for charging; drafting complaints and other legal documents; performing legal research; and appearing in court or at administrative hearings. The attorney will appear in court on behalf of the State at preliminary hearings, jury and/or court trials and other contested hearings.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Graduation from an accredited law school with a Juris Doctor degree and admission to the Bar of the State of Minnesota; plus one to three years" experience as a practicing attorney, preferably in the public sector and/or as a prosecutor.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The following constitute an illustrative (though not all-inclusive) list of essential duties performed by an attorney successfully filling this position:

1. Applies Minnesota law and local ordinances to specified facts after reviewing and analyzing information from a variety of sources. Determines appropriate course of action based on this review and drafts the appropriate complaints, petitions, and/or pleadings.

2. Provides legal advice and direction to law enforcement officers, probation officers, social workers, and county departments regarding legal options and/or course of action. Directs further investigation when necessary.

3. Appears in court at all stages of proceedings and effectively provides information and/or makes legal arguments to the court relating to bail recommendations and/or conditions of release, plea agreements, sentencing recommendations, and probation violations.

4. Prepares for and represents the State in contested matters, court trials, and jury trials before the District Court. Tasks include interviewing and preparing witnesses for testimony (including law enforcement, victims, lay witnesses and expert witnesses), making legal arguments, addressing legal issues with defense, the court and law enforcement, drafting written communication, such as letters, motions, and briefs.

5. Generally analyzes and interprets legislation, case law and other relevant literature in order to maintain accurate, current information on legal developments and changes that may affect current caseload.

6. Confers with other experts in the field of forensic medicine, scientific analysis of evidence, psychologists, engineers, surveyors and appraisers as may be applicable for individual cases. Analyze information in relation to established office policy, ethical considerations and standards, limited resources and the social, moral and legal objectives to be obtained.

7. Provides direction to support staff.

8. Develops and implements training for various departments, agencies, community group and organizations which rely on the County Attorney"s Office for legal direction.

9. May draft proposed changes to ordinances, and administrative procedures to resolve impact or enforcement issues.

10. Prepares legal briefs for filing with the Minnesota Court of Appeals and the Minnesota Supreme Court. Presents and argues cases before the Minnesota Court of Appeals and Minnesota Supreme Court.

10. Performs related duties as required or assigned.

11. May, upon special request, draft proposed legislation and respond to inquiries in relation to proposed legislation.

12. Works cooperatively with agencies outside of the County system; e.g., School Districts, local youth-serving agencies, women"s advocacy programs, etc.
Desired Minimum Qualifications

DESIRED MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
1. Education and Experience:
a. Graduation from an accredited law school with a Juris Doctor degree and admission to the Bar of the State of Minnesota
b. One to three years" experience as a practicing attorney, preferably as a prosecutor or in other areas related to criminal law or the public sector. (Other related experience may be considered in lieu of length of time as practicing attorney if directly related to criminal prosecution or the criminal justice system in Minnesota.)

2. Special Requirements:
a. A license to practice law in the State of Minnesota
b. Member in good standing of the State Bar Association
c. Admission to practice in federal bar, desirable

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities -

a. Considerable knowledge of Minnesota laws (both statutes and case law); Rules of Procedure; Rules of Evidence.
b. Demonstrated ability to utilize independent judgment in analyzing facts and applicable law.
c. Strong oral communication skills.
d. Strong legal writing skills.
e. Ability to present and argue cases in court, demonstrating the skills of persuasion and having the ability to address unanticipated situations/arguments as they may arise.
f. Ability to simultaneously manage multiple tasks, with reasonable organizational skills and ability to prioritize in light of over-all objectives.
g. Ability to work well with co-workers, personnel from other departments, and support staff.
Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Assigned tasks are generally carried out while seated at a desk or counsel table. May be occasional periods of prolonged standing at public hearings, meetings and speaking engagements.

The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision associated with reading and work on a personal computer, as well as the ability to adjust focus to further distances related to presenting information in the court room.

The employee is frequently required to work under various degrees of pressure caused by time limitations and simultaneously carrying out multiple tasks.
Additional Information

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The employee will work in a general office environment where much of the employee"s work will take place at a desk, or other office accommodations. Considerable amount of work is conducted in a courtroom setting, either seated at a counsel table or standing/walking in a generally flat, carpeted area.

Occasional trips to view county property or crime scenes expose the employee to physical hazards such as unsafe buildings, dump sites, rough terrain, dangerous dogs or angry people. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The position may involve a considerable amount of stress which comes from working with a large and varied group of people, a large variety of responsibilities, consistent interruptions and time limitations. The manner in which an assistant county attorney performs his or her job effects people"s lives directly in terms of jail time, fines, financial obligations, children"s safety, victim"s concerns for "justice" and criminal records. Depending on the results of any given case, a child may be placed in danger, a sex abuser may go free, a drug dealer may go free, a family may not get child support, etc. At times the employee may be asked to be available to law enforcement, co-workers or other departments on an on-call basis (24/7).

Trial practice requires unique expenditures of mental and physical effort. The employee is expected to dedicate adequate amounts of time and effort to prepare and present witnesses and physical evidence in court before a judge or jury. Extended trials require long days of consistent, high-level execution. At times this requires extensive work outside the regular, prescribed work day.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to quiet.

On relatively rare occasions, the employee may be exposed to hostile, threatening, and potentially violent individuals.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT USED:
Requires use of computer for word-processing, computer-aided legal research, and case management purposes; telephone; photo-copy machine; facsimile machine; and, on occasion, use of dictation equipment and audio-visual equipment, primarily for trial preparation and training presentations.

Disclaimer

GENERAL STATEMENT:
Applicants for appointment to this position will be required to submit a formal application and may be subject to rating of education and experience, oral interview and/or reference check, background check and psychological testing. Job related testing may be required of any applicant.

The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position.

This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $35.72 - $48.35 per hour