District Attorney

The District Attorney functions as the "official attorney" for Washoe County, which is handled by the Civil Division and its three different teams within the division. Each team is responsible for one of the three main areas of representation. The Civil Team works directly with the county's various elected and appointed officials by providing legal advice on all county matters and representing the county in lawsuits. The CPS Team represents the county in CPS cases by helping with temporary removal of children from dangerous situations and termination of parental rights in the most serious cases. The Family Support Team helps establish paternity and collect child support for custodial parents in the county.

This is a common misconception. The DA's Office, through its Civil Division, is not the attorney for any individual member of the public. Our role is to function as the attorney for the county in carrying out our various statutorily defined duties. So while we sometimes attempt to provide general information for the public when possible, we are not able to provide actual legal advice or analysis to anyone except the county officials we represent.  

No. The Civil Division of our office does work closely with the elected and appointed officials in the county by providing them legal guidance to help them make decisions. However, the DA's Office itself has no supervisory authority over the decisions of the county's elected and appointed officials, who operate within their own legally defined areas of responsibility.