Mark Metz has served as the elected Carver County Attorney since 2011. In 2022, the Carver County residents elected Mr. Metz to his fourth term as county attorney. Prior to his election as the Carver County Attorney, Metz served as an assistant Carver County attorney and assistant McLeod County attorney for eleven years, prosecuting serious felonies in district court, and preparing subsequent appeals at the Minnesota Court of Appeals and the Minnesota Supreme Court. Metz also has extensive experience in child protection, commitments involving the mentally ill and chemically dependent, and other civil cases.

Metz serves on the Minnesota County Attorney Association’s Board of Directors. Metz is the former chairperson of the Minnesota County Attorney's Urban Board. Working in close collaboration with Minnesota County Attorneys, Metz emphasizes the mutual benefits in the sharing of legal information and increased professional training opportunities for Assistant Carver County Attorneys. For more than a decade, Metz continues to serve as an adjunct law professor at Mitchell Hamline College of Law, teaching appellate advocacy to advanced law students.

Metz’s prior experience has included serving as a volunteer ethics investigator for the Lawyer’s Board of Professional Responsibility and he is a past president of the Eighth District Bar Association.  Metz also served on Mitchell Hamline’s alumni board and board of directors for two years.

Personal Message from Carver County Attorney Mark Metz

It is a privilege to serve the people of Carver County as your County Attorney. With its rich historic past, Carver County has always enjoyed the strong value of shared community. In continuing in this tradition, I am committed to providing the highest quality legal representation across a broad range of subject matter, helping to keep Carver County a safe and enjoyable place to work, play and raise a family.

More specifically, in my independent role as the chief law enforcement officer for Carver County, one major priority is managing effective and prompt criminal prosecutions to protect and enhance the safety of all Carver County citizens. Throughout the prosecution process, this office takes extra efforts to ensure that the rights of crime victims are honored and respected through the criminal justice process.

Community trust requires the routine exercise of good judgment in the prosecution function. To maintain this trust, I take affirmative steps to assure all prosecutors in this office are trained to make reasonable charging decisions, consistent with the admissible evidence and constitutional due process. While all attorneys in this office act zealously in their advocacy, my additional expectation is that every Assistant Carver County Attorney employs the highest level of ethical behavior. In short, this office prosecutes based on the evidence, applicable law, and community values -- without fear or favor. Our primary goal is to ensure that justice is served in all cases.

I cannot comment in detail on either active criminal investigations or pending trials. However, once a case concludes, I will explain the legal basis for all actions taken by this office. Moreover, I am constantly striving to bring increased efficiencies and innovation to this office to maximize limited taxpayer resources. I am happy to report that during each year of my tenure, the Carver County Attorney's Office has never exceeded its allocated budget and has consistently been below its allocated budget.

As an example of innovative programming, this office, with the assistance of the Carver County Board of Commissioners and First Judicial District Judges, established a Veteran's Court in 2014. Some of our returning veterans, who honorably served their country, return with mental health problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or chemical dependency issues that sometimes result in criminal charges, such as assault or disorderly conduct. Veteran's Court provides a meaningful opportunity for these veterans to seriously confront their issues and, upon successful completion of intensive probation, beneficially avoid creating a permanent criminal record. This specialty court is now a proven success.

In addition to Veterans Court, this office led the way with its partners to establish Carver County’s Drug Treatment Court. The County Attorney’s Office secured a $500,000 federal grant and began the County’s Drug Treatment Court in January of 2020. The intensive program’s goal is to reduce drug dependency, reduce recidivism, improve public safety and lower the overall cost to society by holding high risk/high need individuals in the criminal justice system accountable while also promoting a lifestyle of long-term recovery.

As another example of innovative programming, the Carver County Attorney's Office sponsors an annual, popular, and unique homicide conference featuring accomplished prosecutors from across Minnesota, presenting on high profile and complex murder cases. This important conference provides valuable training on these difficult and stressful cases (because of the sensitive subject matter, attendance is limited to full-time prosecutors and sworn law enforcement officials only).  

This office addresses significant work in the civil arena. This office is responsible for advising the Carver County Board of Commissioners on potential legal risks should the Board choose to take certain actions. This office is a long-term leader in Minnesota for successfully collecting child support arrears and establishing paternity. Both the Civil and Juvenile Divisions of this office closely collaborate with Carver County Health and Human Services to protect both vulnerable children and adults. Office attorneys provide prompt and accurate legal advice to all other Carver County Divisions, including but not limited to the Sheriff’s Office, Public Health and Human Services, Finance, Land and Water, and Public Works. All of this significant legal advice and guidance helps propel valuable services and beneficial growth while minimizing risk.

In closing, I could not perform my job without the invaluable assistance of our dedicated Assistant Carver County Attorneys and support staff.