March 19, 2008

Decisions can be lonely for county’s top law officer

It can be mighty lonely at the top.

As the Wells County Prosecuting Attorney, Mike Lautzenheiser Sr. is the top law enforcement officer in the county. The buck stops there. He has to make the decisions of whether charges will be filed, what charges those might be, and then represent the people in any given case.

Some decisions are easy. Some decisions are not.

Mike has had a number of tough decisions over the years. Is the current tragedy in which one popular Norwell student died as the result of some horse play with another popular Norwell student the toughest? That’s hard to say, Mike will tell you, but it certainly ranks right up there.

“I spent a lot of time talking this over with the officers involved,” the veteran attorney says. Mike interviewed everyone involved extensively, did a hefty amount of research, did some soul searching, and of course, some prayer.

His decision to file a criminal recklessness charge has brought a number of comments. Some have been supportive; others, shall we say, are not so supportive.

“I have a family, I have four kids myself.” It bothers Mike that people might think he’s not a compassionate man. It would have been an easy thing to let it slide, to not file any charges. He suspects that no one would have said a single word.

But his conscience wouldn’t let him do that.

Mike compares this tragedy to others. Not too long ago, he filed criminal recklessness charges against a youth who had caused a death while driving in a reckless manner. This case involved a gun.

“It’s hard to say this was an accident,” Mike relates. “He certainly didn’t do it intentionally, but he took a gun, thought it was empty, ‘racked it’, pointed it at his friend and pulled the trigger. That’s a reckless act.”

And in both cases, the circumstances are aggravated by a positive test for marijuana.

“I can’t decide to prosecute one case, then not another just because the kid involved is popular,” Mike emphasizes. “If I’m going to do my job ... be fair and consistent ... this is something I have to do.”

And it could be worse, he notes. Charges of reckless homicide could have been filed but he feels that would have overdone the circumstances.

“The young man is obviously distraught; he obviously didn’t mean to hurt his friend. And he’s young and yes, these things can happen,” he explained. “But if I were horsing around when I was 18, had a hangover from a few beers the night before and did something like this, I would expect there to be some consequences.”

What those consequences are will be worked out through the court system. Although he deferred any more discussion along those lines, it seemed apparent here that he’s not looking for what many would consider “harsh” consequences.

Whether or not you agree with his decision to file charges, Wells County should appreciate that, at least in my opinion, they do have a prosecutor with a heart. Sometimes, however, when you are in a position of authority, decisions have to be made with something else.

That’s when it gets lonely.

by MARK MILLER

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