Casson Faces Write-In Candidate In Thayer County Race

By Gordon HopkinsJulie Effenbeck of Chester is running for Thayer County Attorney. The filing deadline and primary has passed, so Effenbeck will be running as a write-in candidate. She will be running against Joseph Casson, the current Jefferson County Attorney.The current Thayer County Attorney, Dan Werner, has opted not to run for re-election.Because no one had expressed interest in running for Thayer County Attorney, Casson filed for the position. Because an attorney cannot serve as county attorney for two counties at the same time, Casson approached Jefferson County Commissioners to continue as county attorney for Jefferson County on a contract basis. Commissioners have indicated they are amenable to this arrangement.Any lawyer who runs for County Attorney must live in the county or an adjoining county. According to state statute, if nobody runs for the office, the County Board can contract with any attorney anywhere in the state of Nebraska to do the job.No candidates have filed for Jefferson County Attorney.Casson explained to commissioners at a previous meeting that the County Attorney is not like some other county officials because of the significant educational requirements to become an attorney, “And when it comes to County Attorney, it’s more difficult to recruit somebody for that position than it is for the other elected officials. Sheriff is also a unique person that has to have specialized training. It isn’t like just anybody from the county can run for that office.”This unusual circumstance has drawn attention to a problem facing rural communities like Jefferson and Thayer counties.“I will be retiring one day. And as far as I know, there’s nobody to fill my position,” Cason told Jefferson County Commissioners. “But out in the rural areas, this is starting to become a problem, to have attorneys come out to the ‘Netherlands’ to start law practice, because it’s not like the olden days.”Casson said, “The system when I graduated from law school, there were probably 15 of us who became county attorneys across the state, fresh out of law school. And it became a way to learn the job. The job is little more complex now. So, what most young attorneys are doing, are taking deputy county attorney positions in the larger counties to then go into private practice. Again, the county attorney has usually been a training ground for lawyers to become private practice defense attorneys.”Casson added, “It’s not like it used to be, where you prosecuted drunk drivers and it’s a fairly easy job. The job has become more complex and more responsibility. So young attorneys are not going to take the boss’s job where you have all the responsibility. You’re going to work somewhere else as a deputy county attorney, so that you don’t have all the responsibilities. That’s the part that’s making it hard to fill these positions, because young attorneys don’t want to take on that all of that responsibility. Because you have to advise the county board, you have to do criminal prosecutions, you have to do juvenile prosecutions, mental health, draw the contracts.”Casson warned the commissioners, “So, we need to realistically look at the future. Some new attorney is going to have to come to town to do my job, because I will retire someday, soon.”

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