V. COUNTY OFFICERS. For County Judge, see Courts, sec. 1076. For County Superintendent, see Public Instruction, sec. 3595. For County Commissioners, see Counties, sec. 897. Secs. 3105 to 3117. ATTORNEY. "An act to provide for the election of county attorneys, to define their duties and fix their salaries," etc. 1885, p. 215. In force June 5. Repeals secs. 15 to 21, ch. 7, Compiled Statutes 1881, entitled "District Attorneys." Former acts-Secs. 15 to 21, ch. 3, R. S. 1866, p. 16, entitled "Prosecuting Attorneys," repealed by "An act to provide for the election of district attorneys and to define their duties," 1867, p. 48, sec. 6 of which was amended by an act approved February 15, 1869. 3105. That at the general election in 1886, and every two years thereafter, a county attorney shall be elected in each organized county for judicial purposes, who shall hold his office for the term of two years, and until his successor is elected and qualified, who shall, before he enters upon the duties of said office, execute a bond to the state of Nebraska, in a sum, not less than one thousand dollars, to be fixed by the county board, with two or more good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by said board, which bond shall be conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties as such officer, and that he will pay over to the county treasurer, in the manner prescribed by law, all moneys which shall come into his hands by virtue of his office, and shall file said bond in the office of the county clerk, and the same shall be recorded in the proper records of the said county. County atttorney is a county officer. 26, 252 (41 N. W., 1093). In criminal case district attorney can have assistance employed by private parties. 14, 544 (16 N. W., 898). 3106. It shall be the duty of the county attorney to appear in the several courts of their respective counties and prosecute and defend, on behalf of the state and county, all suits, applications or motions, civil or criminal, arising under the laws of the state in which the state or the county is a party or interested. Attorney of county to which and not from which change of venue is made should prosecute. 27,723 (43 N. W., 747; 44 N. W., 108). 3107. Each county attorney shall appear on behalf of the state before any magistrate, and prosecute all complaints, made in behalf of the state, of which any magistrate shall have jurisdiction, and he shall appear before any magistrate and conduct any criminal examination which may be had before such magistrate, and shall also prosecute all civil suits before such magistrate in which the state or county is a party or interested. 3108. The county attorney shall, without fee or reward, give opinions and advice to the board of county commissioners and other civil officers of their respective counties, when requested so to do by such board or officers, upon all matters in which the state or county is interested, or relating to the duty of the board or officers in which the state or county may have an interest. 3109. The county attorneys of the several counties of this state shall be allowed by the board of county commissioners for their services a salary, per year, as follows: In counties of not more than 2,500 inhabitants a salary of three hundred dollars per annum; and in counties having over 2,500 and under 5,000 inhabitants, a salary of five hundred dollars; Provided, That in any county which shall have one or more unorganized counties or any territories attached thereto for judicial purposes, the compensation may be increased by the county board, not exceeding two hundred dollars additional. In counties of from five to ten thousand inhabitants, six hundred and fifty dollars; in counties of from ten to twenty thousand inhabitants, a salary of eight hundred dollars; in counties of from twenty to thirty-five thousand inhabitants, a salary of one thousand dollars; in counties of from thirty-five thousand inhabitants and upwards, a salary of two thousand five hundred dollars. Said salaries shall be payable in quarterly installments at the end of each regular quarter. 3110. The county attorney may appoint one or more deputies, who shall act without any compensation from the county, to assist him in the discharge of his duties; Provided, That the county attorney of any county may, under the direction of the district court, procure such assistance, in the trial of any person charged with the crime of felony, as he may deem necessary for the trial thereof, and such assistant or assistants shall be allowed such reasonable compensation as the county board shall determine for his services, to be paid by order on the county treasurer, upon presenting to said board the certificate of the district judge before whom said cause was tried, certifying to the services rendered by such assistant or assistants. May be assisted in criminal prosecutions by counsel employed on private account. 27, 721 (43 N. W., 747; 44 N. W., 108). Board not concluded by certificate of judge fixing fee. 23, 766 (37 N. W., 626). 3111. In the absence, sickness, or disability of the county attorney and his deputies, the court before whom it is his duty to appear, in which there may be business for him, may appoint an attorney to act as county attorney, by an order to be entered upon the minutes of the court, but who shall receive no compensation from the county except as provided for in section six (6) of this act. Where attorney of county to which change of venue has been made appeared for accused in former trial of same case, court should appoint a substitute. 27, 726 (43 N. W., 747; 44 N. W., 108). 3112. No prosecuting attorney shall receive any fee or reward from or on behalf of any prosecutor or other individual, for services in any prosecution or business to which it shall be his official duty to attend; nor be concerned as an attorney or counsel for either party, other than for the state or county, in any civil action depending upon the same state of facts upon which any criminal prosecution, commenced or prosecuted, shall depend. 3113. It shall be the duty of the county attorney, whenever he shall receive any money in his official capacity, to give to the person paying the same duplicate receipts, one of which shall be filed by such person with the county clerk. 3114. Whenever the county attorney is required by the grand jury of any court sitting in his county, it shall be the duty of said county attorney to attend them for the purpose of examining witnesses in their presence, or of giving them advice in any legal matter, and to issue subpoenas and other writs of process; to bring in witnesses, and to draw up bills of indictment, but he shall not be present with the grand jury when an indictment is being considered and found by said grand jury. 3115. In case of vacancy in the office of county attorney by death, resignation, or otherwise, the county board shall appoint a county attorney, who shall give bond, and take the same oath and perform the same duties as the regular county attorney; and shall hold said office until his successor shall be elected and qualified. 3116. That whenever the term district attorney or prosecuting attorney appears in the laws of Nebraska, it shall hereafter mean county attorneys, and all laws now in force regulating the duties of district attorneys in criminal matters and proceedings shall apply to county attorneys herein provided for. 3117. The respective district prosecuting attorneys shall hold their respective offices until the expiration of their present term, as now provided by law, and the said county attorneys are elected and qualified as provided for in section 1 of this act. CLERK. Secs. 3118 to 3122 formed secs. 73 to 77, 1879, p. 374. 3118. The county clerk shall keep his office at the county seat; shall attend the sessions of the county board; keep the seal, records, and papers of said board; and shall sign the record of the proceedings of the board, and attest the same with the county seal. 3119. It shall be the general duty of the county clerk: 1st. To record, in a book provided for that purpose, all proceedings of the board. 2d. To make regular entries of their resolutions and decisions in all questions concerning the raising of money. 3d. To countersign all warrants issued by the board, and signed by its chairman. 4th. To preserve and file all accounts acted upon by the board, with their action thereon; and he shall perform such special duties as are required of him by law. 3120. Such clerk shall not issue any county warrants unless ordered by the board of commissioners authorizing the same; and every such warrant shall be numbered consecutively as allowed from the first day of January to the thirty-first day of December in each year, and the date, amount, and number of the same, and the name of the person to whom it is issued shall be entered in a book called "Warrant Book," to be kept by the clerk in his office for that purpose. When any war rant is returned as canceled, the clerk shall note the date of cancellation opposite such entry. 217. Clerk no authority to issue warrants unless signed by chairman of board of supervisors. 8, 3121. The county clerk shall keep a book in which shall be entered in alphabetical order, by name of the principal, a minute of all official bonds filed in his office, giving the name of the office, amount and date of bond, names of sureties, and date of filing, with proper reference to the book and page where the same is recorded. 3122. It shall be the duty of the county clerk to record in a proper book, to be called the "Road Record," a record of the proceedings in regard to laying out and establishing, changing, or discontinuing roads in the county. Secs. 3123 and 3124 formed secs. 89 and 90, 1879, p. 378. 3123. The county clerk shall keep a distinct account with the treasurer of the county for each several term for which the treasurer may be elected, in a book to be provided for that purpose, commencing from the day on which the treasurer became qualified, and continuing until the same or another person is qualified as treasurer; in which account he shall charge the treasurer as follows: With the amount of taxes levied and assessed in each year as the same appears on each tax list, delivered to him during his term of office; with the amount of money, and with the amount of state, county, and general fund warrants, road orders, or other evidences of indebtedness which the county treasurer may have been authorized to receive from his predecessors in office; with the amount of any additional assessments made after the delivery of any tax list; with the amount of any additional penalty added to the taxes, after the same become delinquent according to law; with the amount due the county for advertising lands for sale for delinquent taxes; with the amount of the school fund received from the state treasurer; with the amount received from the sale of any property belonging to the county; with the amount received as fines and forfeitures; with the amount received from dram-shop, tavern, grocery, or other license; with the amount of money received from any other source authorized by law. And upon presentation of proper vouchers, shall credit him as follows: With the amount of all county, school district, or other tax, which has been paid over to the proper authority and receipted for; with the amount of county warrants received by the county treasurer and returned to the county board and canceled; with the amount paid to the state treasurer, and to school district treasurers, or other officers entitled by law to receive the same; with the amount of delinquent taxes and any additional penalty due thereon; with the amount due on lands and lots, for advertising the same for sale; with the amount of double and erroneous assessments of property; with the amount of percentage fees allowed by law to the county treasurer for collecting taxes; with the amount of money and the amount of warrants, or orders or other evidences of indebtedness which the county treasurer is allowed by law to receive for taxes, which he pays over to his successor in office; with the amount of taxes uncollected on the tax list delivered over to his successor in offices 3124. It shall be the duty of the county clerk to report to the secretary of state on or before the first day of December, annually, the names of all county officers with their official signatures and seals of their respective offices, and whenever any change is made in the incumbent of any county office, the change shall be forthwith reported by the county clerk to the secretary of state, who shall preserve and record such lists with changes subsequently made therein. Secs. 3125 and 3126. "An act to authorize county clerks to administer oaths and affirmations and take acknowledgments, and legalize acknowledgments and oaths heretofore taken and administered by county clerks." 1883, p. 181. In force February 24. 3125. All county clerks and their deputies within the state of Nebraska shall have authority to administer oaths and affirmations in all cases where oaths and affirmations are required, and to take acknowledgments of deeds, mortgages, and all other instruments in writing, and shall attest the same with the county seal. Need not attest oath taken and to be filed in his office with seal. 16, 450 (20 N. W., 389). 3126. All oaths and affirmations heretofore administered, and all acknowledgments heretofore taken by county clerks and their deputies in the legal form shall be and they are hereby declared to be legal and valid. Secs. 3127 and 3128. "An act to provide for certificates of the clerk of the district court to be filed with the county clerk in cases of foreclosures of mortgages." 1887, p. 564. In force July 1. 3127. That in all cases of foreclosure of mortgages in the several counties in the state, it shall be the duty of the clerk of the district court, on the satisfaction or payment of the amount of the decree, to forward to the county clerk a certificate setting forth the names of parties, plaintiff and defendant, description of the premises mentioned in the decree, and the book and page where the mortgage foreclosed is recorded, for which certificate the clerk shall be entitled to a fee of one dollar ($1), which amount shall be taxed as part of the costs in the case, and one-half of said sum shall be paid to the county clerk as his fee for recording the certificate, and the other half retained by the clerk of the district court. 3128. It shall be the duty of the county clerk, on receipt of said certificate, to enter the same upon his numerical index, and record the same in the mortgage record of his office. CORONER. Secs. 3129 to 3148 formed secs. 96 to 115, 1879, p. 380. 3129. When there shall be no sheriff in the county organized for judicial purposes, it shall be the duty of the coroner to exercise all the powers and duties of the sheriff of his county until a sheriff is elected and qualified. 3130. The coroner shall hold an inquest upon the dead bodies of such persons only as are supposed to have died by unlawful means. When he has notice of the dead body of a person, supposed to have died by unlawful means, found or being in his county, he is required to issue his warrant to a constable of his county, requiring him to summon forthwith six lawful men of the county to appear before the coroner, at a time and place named in the warrant. 3131. The warrant may be in substance as follows: "The state of Nebraska, county. To any constable of said county: In the name of the people of the state of Nebraska, you are hereby required to summon forthwith six lawful men of your county to appear before me at on the day of day of there lying, A. D. 18—, then and there to hold an inquest upon the dead body of and by what means he died. Witness my hand this 3132. The constable shall execute the warrant and make return thereof at the time and place therein named. 3133. If any juror fails to appear, the coroner shall cause the proper number to be summoned or returned from the bystanders immediately, and proceed to impanel them and administer the following oath in substance: "You do solemnly swear that you will diligently inquire and true presentment make, when, how, and by what means the person whose body lies here dead, came to his death, according to your knowledge and the evidence given you, so help you God." 3134. Whoever, being so summoned as a juror, fails or refuses, without good cause, to attend at the time and place required, or appearing, refuses to act as such juror, or misbehaves while acting as such juror, shall, on complaint of the coroner before any justice of the peace in the county, be fined not less than three nor more than twenty dollars. 3135. The coroner may issue subpoenas within his county for witnesses, returnable forthwith, or at such time and place as he shall therein direct. 3136. An oath shall be administered to the witnesses in substance as follows: "You do solemnly swear that the testimony which you shall give to this, inquest, concerning the death of the person here lying dead, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God." 3137. If the evidence of any witness shall implicate any person as the unlawful slayer of the person over whom the said inquisition shall be held, the coroner shall recognize such witness in such sum as he may think proper, to be and appear at the next term of the district court for the said county, there to give evidence of the matter in question, and not depart without leave. Such recognizance shall be in the same form, as near as practicable, and have the same effect as recognizances taken before justices of the peace in cases of felony. 3138. The jurors having inspected the body, heard the testimony, and made all needful inquiries, shall return to the coroner their inquisition in writing, under their hands, in substance as follows, and stating the matter in the following form, as near as practicable: "State of Nebraska, county. At an inquisition holden A. D. 18-, before me lying dead, by the jurors at in day of whose names are hereto subscribed, the said jurors upon their oath do say (here state when, how, or by what person, means, weapon, or accident he came to his death, and whether feloniously). In testimony whereof, the said jurors have hereunto set their hands the day and year aforesaid. Coroner. Attest 3139. If the person charged be present, the coroner may order his arrest by an officer or any other person present, and shall then make a warrant requiring the officer or other person to take him before a justice of the peace for examination, or if the person charged be not present and the coroner believes he can be taken, he may issue a warrant to the sheriff or constable, requiring him to arrest the person and take him before a justice of the peace for examination. |