6. Court services agreement - Laserfiche WebLink

CASSCOUNlY GOVERNMENT -'- State's Attorney Birch P. Burdick Assistant State's Attorneys: Mark R. Boening Tracy J. Peters Lisa K. Fair McEvers Trent W Mahler Aaron G. Birst Earle R. Myers, Jr. Leah J. Viste Reid A. Brady Kara Schmitz Olson Jonathan H. P. Anderson Victim/Witness Coordinators: Brenda Olson-Wray Debbie Tibiatowski Check Division/ Restitution: Linda Workin Charlotte Johnson Box 2806 211 Ninth Street South Fargo, North Dakota 58108 PH: 701-241-5850 Fax: 701-241-5838 RECEIVED MAR 1 4 2005 MEMORANDUM CASS COUNTY COMMISSION TO: Cass County Commissioners FROM: Birch P. Burdick Cass County State's Attorney Ji,.t DATE: March 14, 2005 RE: Court Services Agreement - County Ordinances ********************* Cass County has enacted, and is in the process of considering further enactments of, ordinances under the Home Rule Charter. Some of those ordinances now, and may in the future, contain provisions relating to possible enforcement through the District Court. By way of historical perspective, cases that arose under county ordinances would have been handled by the "County Court", rather than the District Court. In 1995 the courts were consolidated. No particular provision was made for hearing county ordinances at that time. The Legislature in 2003 provided District Courts with the express authority to hear cases arising under county ordinances, but did not otherwise provide a specific mechanism for doing so. For the last several years we have been working under an informal agreement with the Court. It is appropriate to commit that understanding to a formal written agreement, particularly given that the potential scope of cases that may be heard by the Court is expanding as the County's ordinances are expanding in number and type. The District Court here, and in other jurisdictions, has agreements with municipalities (and home rule charter counties) to hear cases that require a jury and therefore cannot be heard in the municipal court. Those agreements provide for a division of fines, fees and costs between the court and the municipality. Enclosed is a draft agreement submitted by our Presiding Judge. It contains terms similar to those incorporated into agreements with other municipalities/counties. I draw your attention to a few provisions because they may have financial implications: . County will pay any indigent defense costs that may arise. Page 1 of 2