Attorney's Office

COUNTY ATTORNEY:    Christopher D. Karpan

WHAT WE DO:
Chris Karpan is the elected County Attorney for Douglas County.  The Douglas County Attorney's Office consists of five full time attorneys, including the county attorney, five support staff, a part time investigator and a part time teen court coordinator.

The County Attorney is the chief prosecutor for all adult felony crimes in the county and also prosecutes misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor offenses occurring in unincorporated areas or in other limited areas defined by statute.  The County Attorney also prosecutes all levels of crime committed by juveniles within the County as well as oversees diversion programs that implement alternative methods of handling juvenile offenders without bringing them to district court.

The County Attorney's Office works hand in hand with law enforcement from criminal investigations to the ultimate sentencing of a defendant and everything in between.

The County Attorney serves as the legal advisor for the county Board of Commissioners and other County officials and represents the County in all civil litigation.  Frequently, private citizens will ask the County Attorney's Office for help with a private legal matter.  By law, the County Attorney and his staff are not permitted to represent private citizens or provide legal advice to them.  The County Attorney is elected to work with law enforcement in crime prevention and prosecution and to represent the various entities that make up Douglas County's government.

The County Attorney also initiates legal actions to protect abused or neglected children and vulnerable adults, and files involuntary commitment actions to provide necessary treatment for individuals who are mentally ill, chemically dependent, or mentally handicapped.

The County Attorney's Office is committed to providing quality legal advice and effective representation for Douglas County, with the goal of promoting the fair and consistent application of the law.

WHERE WE ARE LOCATED:                                           
The Douglas County Attorney's Office is located in the northwest corner of the second floor of the Courthouse.  Using the wooden staircase from the first floor, the office is to the left.  If you chose to use the elevator from the lobby, the office is down the hallway to the left.  There is public parking available on the neighborhood streets or in the public lot located at the southwest corner of the building.