Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
NAME: CHERYL COPPERSTONE
OCCUPATION: Attorney
EDUCATION: University of Alaska AA Business; University of Arizona BA Political Science; University of Wyoming JD Law
What qualities make you the best candidate for this position?
I am an honest, ethical attorney with integrity. I am a trial attorney willing to go to trial my entire career. Trial work is imperative for a prosecutor. A policy of strict enforcement of DUI. No plea bargains to traffic charges like ”careless driving”. I have a working relationship with Law Enforcement. I managed a busy law practice with up to 10 employees over 20 years. I efficiently handled a large caseload my entire career. I have more Jury Trial experience. Defense attorneys need to know you are prepared to go to trial, which gives a stronger negotiating position.
What would be your primary focus, if elected, and what tasks would you delegate to your staff?
A County Attorney’s office that keeps the public informed and educates the public on the legal system and the constraints within the system. Working with all Law Enforcement, as an effective team. All crimes including misdemeanors are prosecuted, it may prevent a Defendant from committing a felony in the future. Property rights must be enforced! No arbitrary dismissals. Delegation of duties to the staff would depend upon their skill sets and education, as well as their job description. Staff duties are limited to their job description in a government setting.
What do you think is the most common mistake made by attorneys and how would you ensure that doesn’t happen in your office?
According to the American Bar Association, the most common mistake is lack of communication with a client. It has always been my practice to return phone calls within 48 hours. The County attorney does not have clients but does represent the people of Sanders County. If elected I will have public meetings to discuss issues with the public. I plan on the Sheriff’s office joining these meetings with the public. Not everything can be discussed such as ongoing investigations. The public can be informed on closed cases, issues in the community and educated on how the criminal legal system works.
NAME: NAOMI LEISZ
OCCUPATION: Sanders County Attorney
EDUCATION:
What qualities make you the best candidate for this position?
Hands down - experience. Even if you don’t like me or even if you don’t like how I handled a particular case in a particular matter, the fallout from having my opponent elected will be devastating for the county. I have the best legal assistants in the state in my opinion and they have vowed to stay with me through another term. They are trained, highly competent and know how to do their jobs in an efficient, competent, professional, manner. My staff is invaluable to our county as far as I am concerned. I could NOT do my job without them. Before I became county attorney, I had exposure to all of the different legal issues that I handle here as the county attorney. Drug related crimes, sexual assault, domestic abuse, strangulation, DUIs, mental health commitments, probation revocations, sentencings, plus civil matters such as property disputes, probate matters, guardianships & conservatorships, just to name a few. As a prosecutor the role is different, but the boilerplate knowledge is essential when starting new.
What would be your primary focus, if elected, and what tasks would you delegate to your staff?
My staff already knows their primary delegated duties, they are trained, highly competent and know how to do their jobs in an efficient, competent, professional, manner. I will not accept mediocrity from employees of this office just because we live in a rural county. My primary goal for the next four years is to hire a victim/witness coordinator. I am writing the job description for that new position this week. My second goal will be bringing together community partners such as the courts, mental health professionals, and health care facilities in order to make a comprehensive attempt at tackling our mental health crisis.
What do you think is the most common mistake made by attorneys and how would you ensure that doesn’t happen in your office?
I don’t know about mistakes, but the number one complaint is always when people do not get a phone call back. As I said, I am hiring another person in this office that will help us more efficiently manage our increased workload. This includes communicating with victims as well as general phone calls. At any given time I literally have dozens of phone calls I have to respond to. I want to be able to at least get messages back to people because some people literally sit by the phone waiting for the county attorney to call them back.
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