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FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
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Does
the Attorney's Office give legal advise to
private residents? |
The Otter Tail County Attorney's Office is
a full-time office and can only represent
the County and perform duties authorized by
state statute. The County Attorney and his
or her assistants cannot give private legal
advice to individuals about legal problems
or disputes with others. In order to obtain
such private legal advice, an individual must
contact a private attorney. Refer to the Yellow
Pages for a local attorney or contact the
Minnesota Bar Association Referral Service
at (800) 292-4152 or visit the web site: www.mnbar.org/attref.htm.
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I
have a legal issue with my landlord, can the
Attorney's Office assist me in solving this
problem? |
The county attorney cannot give legal advice
to either landlords or tenants. The Attorney
General's Office can provide some direction
for landlord/tenant disputes, (800) 657-3787.
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Do
I report a crime to the County Attorney? |
If
an individual is aware that a crime may have
been committed, the information should be provided
to the local law enforcement agency, either
a City Police Department
or the County
Sheriff, depending upon where the crime
occurred. A major responsibility of the county
attorney is the decision whether or not to charge
persons with crimes, however, it is generally
based upon investigations of law enforcement
departments and other regulatory agencies.
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A
customer gave me a bad check, what do I do? |
Under some circumstances, the issuance of an
insufficient funds check or an account closed
check may constitute a crime. In those cases,
the County Attorney's Office or a city prosecutor
may become involved. However, just as in the
case of any other crime, the offense must first
be reported to the appropriate law enforcement
agency who will work with a victim to follow
the necessary procedures.
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Child
Support Collection. |
Whenever federal welfare benefits are paid,
the county attorney brings actions to obtain
or enforce child support obligations or to establish
paternity of a child in order to obtain reimbursement
of these public funds. Parents not receiving
federal welfare benefits may also apply for
and receive these child support enforcement
or paternity establishment services, and should
contact the Child Support Enforcement Office
of the Otter
Tail County Human Services Department, (218)
739-4496.
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Many questionable business practices do not
involve criminal acts, but a victim may have
civil remedies. In these situations, the County
Attorney's Office cannot be involved, however,
the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division
may be able to provide some advice, (612) 296-3353.
Some acts of consumer fraud are criminal and
can be reported to a law enforcement agency
as well. However, an initial contact with the
Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney
General's Office may help an individual determine
whether or not a criminal investigation might
be of any help.
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The Otter Tail County Attorney's Office does
have a victim/witness assistance program, but
there are others who can also help victims of
certain crimes. Victims of sexual assault or
abuse may want to contact the Otter Tail County
Sexual Violence Response Center, (218) 736-2440;
victims of domestic abuse may want to contact
the Region IV Council on Domestic Violence at
(218) 739-0983, and general crime victims, who
would like to contact an agency outside of the
prosecutor's office, may want to contact the
Listening Ear Crisis Center, (218) 736-2440.
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Satisfaction
of Judgments. |
Persons with judgments against them, including
defendants ordered to pay restitution in criminal
matters, may file Satisfactions of Judgment
with the District Court once the obligation
has been paid in full. The County Attorney's
Office does not prepare such documentation,
and the Satisfaction of Judgment must be signed
by the judgment creditor, who is the person
to whom the judgment was owed. Satisfaction
of Judgment forms are available through the
District
Court Administrator's Office in the Courthouse.
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The Otter Tail County Attorney's Office can
only disclose those crimes that it prosecuted.
Private individuals can generally access more
complete criminal records only through the Bureau
of Criminal Apprehension in St. Paul, (651)
642-0672.
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The county attorneys are prosecutors, and do
not defend individuals in criminal cases. An
individual must either hire one's own attorney
or apply for a public defender. One wishing
to seek the appointment of a public defender
should contact the Court
Administrator's Office. Individuals wishing
to contact their public defenders should call
(218) 739-7467.
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Most lower level crimes committed inside city
limits, including all misdemeanors and many
gross misdemeanors, are prosecuted by city attorneys.
The cities in Otter Tail County having attorneys
and their phone numbers are as follows:
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City
of Henning
Penn Brandborg |
(218)
736-7447 |
Cities
of Perham and New York Mills
Dennis Happel |
(218)
346-5300 |
City
of Fergus Falls
Rolf Nycklemoe |
(218)
736-5673 |
Cities
of Pelican Rapids and Parkers Prairie
Jeff Skonseng |
(218)
739-4623 |
City
of Battle Lake
J.J. Cline |
(218)
736-5456 |
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