District Attorney

Green County District Attorney's Office Mission Statement

• To work in partnership with law enforcement officers, probation agents, and correctional officers in their task of maintaining law and order in our communities so to ensure public safety, reduce recidivism,  rehabilitate defendants, and deter violations of law by members of our community.
• To ensure that victims and witnesses of crimes are treated with dignity, respect, courtesy and sensitivity and are afforded all their rights under the law. 
• To ensure that all of our governmental institutions are operated in accordance with our laws. 
• To operate the business of the District Attorney’s Office as efficiently as possible so that the safety returned to the taxpayers of Green County and the State of Wisconsin is maximized. 

The primary purpose of the District Attorney’s office is to represent the citizens of Green County by prosecuting individuals who are alleged to have committed crimes in our community. A criminal case is a case where the possible penalty is jail or prison. Law enforcement investigates crimes and then submits a referral for review by the District Attorney or an Assistant District Attorney. A prosecutor will review the report and make a decision as to what, if anything, the individual should be charged with. On occasion, the prosecutor will return the referral/incident report to law enforcement for additional investigation or for issuance of ordinance citation(s). When the prosecutor has all necessary information, the prosecutor files a criminal complaint with the Clerk’s office, setting forth charges and a factual basis to support those charges. The prosecutor who files the complaint will handle the case through disposition, which may include a plea and sentencing agreement or a jury trial.

In many of the criminal and delinquency cases prosecuted by the District Attorney’s office, there are victims of the offense. The Victim Witness Coordinators, work closely with these victims to assure that they understand the criminal procedure and ensures that the Court hears their views about how the crime has effected them.

The District Attorney’s office also represents the State of Wisconsin and Green County in the prosecution of civil forfeiture and traffic cases where the defendants choose to contest the citations. These include citations issued by the Green County Sheriff’ Department, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Wisconsin State Patrol.

The Green County District Attorney’s office also handles juvenile delinquency prosecutions, where it is alleged that the juvenile committed a crime. In these cases, local law enforcement submits their incident reports directly to the Department of Human Services and  Green County District Attorney’s Office. The assigned social worker will then complete their investigation and make a referral to District Attorney’s office to proceed with a delinquency action.  The District Attorney’s office is not bound by the referral of a social worker and may seek to initiate juvenile delinquency prosecutions.

By direction of the County Board, the Green County District Attorney’s office also handles a variety of non-criminal matters involving juveniles that are handled in other counties by Corporation Counsel. These matters include cases involving Children in Need of Protection and Services, Juveniles in Need of Protection and Services, and Termination of Parental Rights.