County Attorney Description (cont'd)
The County Attorney, with the Assistant County Attorneys, represents the State in all criminal cases in County before the Carroll County Superior Court (except murder cases, over which the Attorney General's Office has sole jurisdiction). This involves reviewing criminal cases undertaken by local and State Police; presenting cases to the Grand Jury; prosecuting misdemeanor cases that are appealed to the Superior Court; participating in the depositions of witnesses; writing and responding to motions filed with the Court; preparing witnesses for testimony; presenting the State’s case at trial; arguing the State’s position at the sentencing hearing; and representing the State’s position in various post-conviction proceedings, such as sentence review, motions for new trial, and habeas corpus petitions.
The County Attorney's Office has a Victim/Witness Program to assist victims and witnesses to crime in navigating the criminal justice system. This program is designed to reduce the confusion and fear that people – especially children and domestic and sexual assault victims – often experience when they become involved with the criminal trial process for the first time.
Victim/Witness Assistants work to aid in the prosecution of criminal cases by acting as a liaison between prosecutors and victims of crime. Their job is to ensure that victims and witnesses remain informed throughout every stage of the prosecution process and have input into dispositions on their cases, all in accordance with the Victim’s Bill of Rights. Every effort is taken to utilize resources to reduce the stress and trauma on victims throughout this process.
To protect young or vulnerable victims from multiple interviews and to protect the integrity of the investigation, Carroll County has long followed a protocol requiring that such victims be interviewed only once, on videotape, at the Child Advocacy Center in Wolfeboro or Conway. This protocol has been successful in protecting victims from being “re-victimized” by the court process. In addition to assistance from the Child Advocacy Center, Victim/Witness Assistants are also knowledgeable on various county-level and state-wide resources and services available to victims and their family members, and can provide a wide array of referrals.
The County Attorney’s Office has an Attorney on call, available 24 hours a day, by cell phone, to advise and assist the County’s police departments, Sheriff’s Office and Troop E of the State Police on legal issues that arise in the course of their investigations.
The County Attorney and the Assistant County Attorneys also try to make themselves available to address many community and law enforcement groups on a variety of subjects, including:
- Child Abuse;
- Sexual Assault;
- Drug Offenses;
- Motor Vehicle Offenses;
- The Workings of the Criminal Justice System;
- And many other topics of interest and concern to the Community
The County Attorney’s Office also offers training seminars on various law enforcement topics to the police departments within the County.