Position Summary: Under the supervision of the department head or supervisor, the Legal Assistant I performs assistance to Assistant County Attorney consisting of filing criminal, juvenile or care and treatment cases. The employee in this position will assist the Assistant County Attorney in making sure his/her calendar is up to date, cases files are pulled and ready for court.

Examples of Work (Essential Functions):

• Prepares disposition form after case is filed and sends in to KBI for criminal history purposes;
• Copies charging documents after the case is filed for this office and defense counsel;
• Enters cases into management information system for tracking of cases in the office;
• Maintains daily filing of incoming reports, notes, correspondence, pleadings, etc.;
• Obtains copies of jail sheet and determines if their attorney has any cases to file for first appearances;
• Keeps track of attorney’s calendar;
• Makes sure police reports are turned in for the attorney to make charging decisions; If reports are not in it is the Legal Assistant’s job to call that law enforcement agency and get the reports;
• Composes letters to law enforcement to request further follow-up in some cases;
• Prepares journal entries, issue warrants, bench warrant bond forfeitures, issue summons and any legal documents as required in each case;
• Prepares trial notebooks for jury trials;
• Cross trains in other areas to cover those positions when vacant;
• Works with law enforcement by telephone and in person;
• Notifies interested parties by phone of detention and CINC hearings within 48 hours or 72 hours;
• Prepares the charging documents consisting of Information and Warrant; Legal Assistant is responsible for getting the charging documents filed with the Clerk of the District Court’s Office, and if necessary obtains a Judge’s signature on the warrant;
• Prepares Governor’s warrants, extraditions and detainers and fugitive warrants as well as schedule transport with Sheriff’s Office and governing state;
• Prepares all subpoenas needed in each case and notify their attorney if service is not received;  
• Ensures all signatures by CSO, ISO, and LEO and dissemination papers after looking at file;
• Executes an inquisition in obtaining certain medical records or information;
• Files Care and Treatment documents, notifies evaluators, law enforcement, court and petitioners of hearing time and date;
• Receives and notifies merchants and/or citizens of collecting insufficient fund checks;
• Maintains up to date training to be certified by Kansas Highway Patrol to obtain access to the CJIS program to run a Triple I, 27, and KBI Rap and order certified driving records in all traffic and criminal cases;
• Performs other duties as deemed necessary or as required.  

Examples of Work (Marginal Functions):

• None.  

Certificate, License: Notary Public.

Required Education and/or Experience: Two years related experience, High School Diploma or G.E.D.; or Associate’s degree; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Employee is expected to have acquired the necessary information and skills to perform the job reasonably well after six months in the position. Experience in the criminal justice system.

Preferred Education and/or Experience: Three years related experience, High School Diploma or G.E.D.; or Associate’s degree and one year experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Degree in Criminal Justice or Paralegal.

Abilities, Knowledge, Skills:

• Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals;
• Ability to apply commonsense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form;
• Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs;
• Ability to convey and receive detailed or important information and instructions to and from the various departments and the general public;
• Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations;
• Ability to express or exchange ideas by means of communication;
• Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals;
• Ability to reliably and predictably carry out duties;
• Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of an organization;
• Ability to work well with others;
• Ability to write routine reports and correspondence;
• Knowledge of basic criminal law, civil procedures and legal terminology and procedures;  
• Knowledge of office machines and equipment;
• Skill in operating computers;
• Skill in oral and written communication;

Problem Solving: Problem solving does exist in this position. Dealing with the public and scheduling court dates with the court. Requires some interaction with victims and witnesses.

Decision Making: Decision making exists in this position. Decisions include setting priorities on work assignments, and coordinating multiple tasks. Need to have ability to deal with emergencies/crisis situation.

Accountability: Employee in this position will spend anywhere from 2 to 8 hours per week in court.

Supervision: Limited supervision is provided once policies and procedures are learned. Job related decisions are occasionally reviewed by department head or supervisor. Employee does not have responsibility over subordinate personnel.

Personal Relationships: Continuous contact with other departments, law enforcement, KBI, SRS, victims, witnesses and the general public.

Working Conditions: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is not regularly exposed to adverse working conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. The work may involve urgent deadlines and upset customers.

Physical Requirements: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, grasp, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. Lifting, moving, pushing or pulling up to 10 pounds does not generally occur. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. Sustained movements of the wrists, hands and/or fingers in typing and otherwise working primarily with the fingers rather than the whole hand or arm.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all essential functions, marginal functions, responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified in this position.