LAW ENFORCEMENT ENDORSED
“LEADERSHIP IN ACTION”
Dear Neighbor –
I am seeking election for Rice County Attorney because the County Attorney sets the standard of behavior that is tolerated in our community. I am asking for your support because we need to raise that standard.
Rice County has a concerning and growing pattern of arrest and release, wholesale dismissal of charges, and probation as punishment for dangerous crimes. The offenders are very much aware of this pattern, and I am running to stop it.
My wife and I chose to move our family to Faribault when I was hired to fill the need for an attorney with extensive trial experience. We have roots here and I will continue to do the work necessary to keep our community and families safe. I have a vested interest because I want my young boys to grow up in a safe and thriving community.
As your County Attorney, I will show up every day to continue to serve you and your families with honesty, integrity and respect.
JOIN OUR TEAM
PRIORITIES
“Leadership in Action” means…
1. Brian will explore new initiatives and innovate with community stakeholders and leaders to address the challenges facing our community.
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Effectively implement a Drug Diversion Program.
As a new approach to an old problem, Diversion allows first time offenders, facing low level drug possession charges, to quickly get treatment instead of a prolonged criminal case, receive rehabilitation instead of unnecessary incarceration, and an opportunity to avoid a criminal record.
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Increase and Encourage enrollment in Treatment Court.
Treatment Court can be the most effective way for high-risk high-need offenders to engage in effective long-term treatment and therapy to end the cycle of recidivism, and successfully treat the mental health and substance use disorders that keep individuals cycling through the criminal justice system.
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Explore the need for a Mental Health Court.
Access to Mental Health Court would enable Rice County to better serve individuals who have entered the criminal justice system because of unmet mental health needs.
3. Brian will ensure each case is evaluated on an individual basis, according to its facts, giving victims their voice and listening to it.
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Will not evaluate cases on a cost benefit analysis.
Justice for victims is achieved when every case is considered according to its unique facts and circumstances.
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Work to resolve cases without needless delays.
Victims and defendants deserve timely case resolutions so their cases do not unnecessarily languish in the court system for years.
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Victims of property crimes and traffic offenses deserve justice.
Property and traffic offense crimes can be financially devastating even in the absence of physical injury and will be prosecuted appropriately.
2. Brian will appropriately prosecute violent offenders so they do not continue to commit crimes in our neighborhoods.
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Raise the standard of prosecution.
Patterns of prosecution send a message to offenders about what standard of behavior will be tolerated in the community. That standard will be raised.
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Stop offering probation as punishment for our most violent offenders.
Probation is not an appropriate punishment for repeat violent offenders, who have already shown community supervision is insufficient to protect public safety.
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End the practice of dismissing multiple violent offenses for repeat violent offenders.
Repeat violent offenders are emboldened and empowered when they benefit from this practice.
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Make it common practice for multiple attorneys to review the County’s most complex cases.
Multiple attorneys reviewing initial charging decisions will assure citizens the correct decisions are being made from the start and avoid expending resources on cases that may end in dismissal.
3. Brian will ensure each case is evaluated on an individual basis, according to its facts, giving victims their voice and listening to it.
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Will not evaluate cases on a cost benefit analysis.
Justice for victims is achieved when every case is considered according to its unique facts and circumstances.
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Work to resolve cases without needless delays.
Victims and defendants deserve timely case resolutions so their cases do not unnecessarily languish in the court system for years.
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Victims of property crimes and traffic offenses deserve justice.
Property and traffic offense crimes can be financially devastating even in the absence of physical injury and will be prosecuted appropriately.
4. Brian will recruit, train, and retain an experienced staff that will makes the office succeed at all levels to better serve the community.
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Introduce a structured training program for all newly hired attorneys.
Training all newly hired attorneys from day one is vital to ensure all attorneys serve the community at the highest of ability and ethics.
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Create a mentorship program for attorneys.
Mentorship of experienced attorneys is vital to providing the guidance and resources necessary for a new attorney to handle the demands of a case load.
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Foster a positive and collaborative work environment.
A work environment that fosters collaborative problem solving will help retain high quality talent and stop the loss of money and time on repeated recruiting and hiring. In a small office, the loss of eight attorneys over three years is wholly unacceptable.
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Provide training for local law enforcement at least two times every year.
Providing consistent training to update our local law enforcement will help the relationship with law enforcement and enable law enforcement to continue to serve our community with excellence.
MEET BRIAN
Brian has the relevantexperience, knowledge, and ability to lead the Rice County Attorney’s Office into the future of the legal profession.
Brian has the relevant experience and character to tackle the challenges currently facing Rice County.
Brian grew up in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and Sparta, Wisconsin, instilled with the value of public service. His father served over 30 years with the United States Army and served in Vietnam. His mother also had a career in public service, early on as a teacher and then serving the U.S. Military as a civilian for over 20 years. And his grandfathers both served the country – one a veteran of the Korean war and the other a veteran of World War II and survivor of the Bataan Death March. His great uncle, who was a mentor, farmed land in Iowa and passed on his example of tirelessly working for others. As a result, Brian has a strong sense of duty, service, and hard work.
After graduating from Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, Florida. Brian began his legal career as a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Sheri Polster Chappel. While serving as a law clerk, Brian gained invaluable knowledge about the inner workings of the court system.
He then joined the Office of the State Attorney for the 20th Judicial Circuit in Florida as an Assistant State Attorney. During his time with the State Attorney’s Office Brian handled hundreds of misdemeanor and felony cases and successfully prosecuted dozens of trials. Brian was tasked with defending Florida’s breath testing instrument, used to test suspected alcohol levels in DUI drivers, against multiple legal challenges. Brian successfully defended the instrument and became an expert on breath testing and a leader in DUI prosecutions.
Brian was named the 2013 Prosecutor of the Year by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for his work prosecuting wildlife crimes. He obtained a guilty verdict in illegal commercial fishing operation trial that resulted in, at the time, the largest fine ever imposed for the benefit of the Florida Fish and Wildlife. When Brian relocated to Rice County, and resigned from the State Attorney’s Office, his prosecutorial experience included cases ranging from drugs to burglaries, home invasions to homicide, and everything in between.
The current county attorney hired Brian in 2016 to fill the office’s need for an attorney with criminal prosecution and trial experience. Since joining the Rice County Attorney’s Office, Brian has worked closely with the Cannon River Drug and Violent Offender Task Force. He has handled some of the county’s largest drug prosecutions, and put many of the County’s biggest drug dealers in prison. He has also served on the Rice County Treatment Court where he advocated for and increased the number of participants, getting much needed treatment to those suffering addiction.
Brian has set a standard for taking difficult cases to trial. Most recently, Brian presented a complex and voluminous racketeering case to a Rice County jury. That successful prosecution resulted in 29 guilty verdicts and a sentence of 117 months in prison.
For more than a decade, Brian has worked tirelessly to meet the challenge of putting the pieces of evidence together and building solid cases that end in successful convictions. Brian has the relevant experience, knowledge and ability to lead the Rice County Attorney’s Office into the future of the legal profession.
Brian and his wife live in Faribault with their three young boys. Brian coaches the boys’ hockey teams and is currently serving as Vice President of the Faribault Hockey Association. They are active members of Divine Mercy Church where Brian is a member of the Men’s Group and a Spirit Fest volunteer.
ENDORSEMENTS
“It is my pleasure and honor to fully support and endorse Brian Mortenson to be the next Rice County Attorney. I served the good folks of Faribault as Police Chief from 2012 to 2022 and have nearly 32 years experience in Minnesota law enforcement. I believe Brian is essential for that office to thrive. He is a person of integrity that will bring back transparency to that position and better serve victims of crime. Brian is the right person at this time to serve the Rice County community. I have confidence he can rebuild any strained relationships and foster a more collaborative internal and external workplace and move towards retaining long term quality county employees.”
bargaining units are happy to announce their endorsement of Brian Mortenson for the Office of Rice County Attorney.
. . . This endorsement is recognition that the union members most directly affected by this political office urge all who receive this notice support Brian Mortenson.
Brian Mortenson has earned the respect and support of your county Deputies and Sergeants. On election day, vote for Brian Mortenson!”
“Brian has always been a close partner with the members of our association and will hold criminals accountable by continuing to work collaboratively with law enforcement officers in our agency and throughout Rice County. We believe Brian Mortenson will make changes that would benefit the citizens and victims in Rice County…“
“Having previously worked collaboratively with Brian Mortenson I believe that he will repair the strained relationships between our Rice County law enforcement and other Rice County justice partners.
I believe that he will lead a transparent office that will foster a healthy working environment for current and future employees.
Brian Mortenson will make changes that will make being a resident of Rice County a safer place to live and work.”
