Clay County Attorney

The county attorney’s office performs many services and duties. The most obvious responsibility is the prosecution of all violations of criminal law within the jurisdiction of the district court; that includes all misdemeanors, such as DUI offenses, other traffic violations, assault, and theft of less than $1,000.

County attorneys have prosecutorial jurisdiction over juvenile issues, which include criminal acts, dependency, neglect, and abuse. They also work with judges to issue warrants, criminal summons, handle extraditions, and oversee mental commitments, disability cases, and Casey’s Law actions.  County attorneys also work to protect the county’s interests in recovering delinquent taxes in Circuit Court.

In addition to these prosecutorial duties, county attorneys serve as counsel to their counties’ fiscal courts, districts, commissions, boards, and county officials in all legal issues. If a county government or agency is sued, the county attorney advises elected officials and defends the county’s position in court.

Beyond these duties, many county attorneys choose to take on additional responsibilities to help their communities, such as collecting cold checks on behalf of merchants and businesses, delinquent property taxes for their counties, and delinquent child support payments for parents.