Warrants

The Warrant Team is responsible for the screening and charging of most criminal cases that are presented to the Office of the Greene County Prosecutor for review. Screening is the process by which a prosecuting attorney determines if a charge may be brought against an individual. Charging is the process by which a prosecuting attorney determines the particular crime or crimes that an individual will be accused of committing. The philosophy of the Warrant Team and the Office of the Greene County Prosecuting Attorney is to hold accountable those who break the law and to obtain justice for victims and the community

TYPES OF CASES THAT THE WARRANT TEAM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SCREENING AND CHARGING

Most of the cases that are sent to the Office of the Greene County Prosecuting Attorney for review are assigned to the Warrant Team. These include cases ranging from trespass in the second degree to drug trafficking in the first degree and serious assaults. Exceptions to this general rule include traffic cases, bad check cases, domestic assaults, crimes against children, sexual offenses, methamphetamine laboratory cases and homicides which are all assigned to specialized Teams for review.

ASSISTANT PROSECUTORS ASSIGNED TO THE WARRANT TEAM

Robert Garrison is the assistant prosecutor that is currently assigned to the Warrant Team. In addition to the assistant, the Warrant Team also has access to three investigators and six other support persons.

HOW A CRIMINAL CASE PROCEEDS THROUGH OUR OFFICE

The screening and charging process is initiated when an agency sends a report to our office for review. There are a number of agencies that submit reports to our office, however, most reports are sent by the Springfield Police Department, the Green County Sheriff's Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Once the report is received by this office, it is routed to a data entry department where it is entered into the case management system. Most cases are then alphabetically assigned to one of the assistants in the Warrant Team. At that point, the case will be designated as "under advisement". That status will remain unchanged until the assigned assistant makes a charging decision. Our goal is to review cases the same day that we receive them, however, it is sometimes necessary to send cases back to a submitting agency for further investigation. If one of the assistants decides to file felony charge, an arrest warrant will normally be issued. If the case is a misdemeanor, a summons will generally be mailed to the defendant. Once the case is actually filed, the Greene County Clerk's Office will assign a case number to the case.

If the case is a felony, the case will be assigned to a prosecutor in one of the specialized divisions in the office. That person will be primarily responsible for monitoring the case as it proceeds through the court system. The assigned prosecutor may handle all the important stages of the process including the preliminary hearing, bond hearings, the guilty plea hearing and sentencing. If the case goes to trial, the assigned prosecutor will be responsible for preparing the case. The assigned prosecutor is also authorized to extend offers and enter into plea negotiations with the defense attorney handling the case.

If the case is a misdemeanor, the case will again be assigned to a prosecutor in one of the specialized divisions in the office. However, the case will generally be handled at most stages by the assistant that is assigned to court on the day that action is taking place on the case.

The Greene County Prosecutor's Office has a Victim/Witness Team that assists victims and witnesses. They can be contacted at (417) 868-4082. They are there to respond to any questions or concerns you may have regarding your case.

Both members of the Warrant Team have voice mail. You should feel free to leave a message on their voice mail if they are not immediately available.

WARRANT TEAM MEMBERS

Emily L. Carlstrom, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney

Emily received her undergraduate degree from Drury University, Springfield, Missouri, majoring in Public Relations. She graduated from the University of Missouri, School of Law, Columbia, Missouri, in 2007. Appointed assistant prosecuting attorney in August 2007.