Grateful, happy to serve

“My job is to seek justice, not convictions,” says Waseca County Attorney Rachel Cornelius. Cornelius, who has been in the position since 2006, admits that “justice” can be difficult to define. 

“We talk extensively with the victims and get to know what their wishes are,” she clarifies. “We do our best to follow through on those wishes, within the context of our authority.

“The last thing I want is to see people who have already experienced trauma and mistreatment be ‘revictimized’ by the court system.”

The Waseca County attorney's office includes four attorneys, a paralegal and an office manager. “We staff many cases as a team,” says Cornelius. 

The cases they take on cover quite a range, anything from a simple traffic stop to a serious felony. “Something many people don’t know,” observes Cornelius, “is that lawyers have ethical responsibilities to not charge matters which, ultimately, need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”  When such cases come along, Cornelius says she collaborates closely with law enforcement to determine if more evidence can be gathered to pursue charges. “We work remarkably hard–often outside office hours–to determine what we think would be ‘just’ in a particular case. And when it doesn’t happen, we feel the victims’ pain.”

In addition to all of the criminal work the County Attorney’s Office does, its lawyers also represent MNPrairie in child protection and adult protection matters.

“We work with child protective services to try and bring about the best outcome for children and families,” she says. “That’s a really tough part of the job.” She mentions trying to determine whether parents who claim to have “changed” will truly carry through on their promises, and having to balance the trauma children experience when removed from their homes against any physical or emotional harm they might encounter if they stay in an environment which has previously proven hostile to them.

“It can be heartbreaking,” she comments, “when something we’ve done–whether it be reunification or not–doesn’t work out.”

On the other hand, she says she is grateful for the foster parents and other supportive adults who have the children’s interests at heart. “We have wonderful, amazing foster parents,” she says. “And that’s good, because we have lots of kids who desperately need to be loved and cared for.”  When families can’t be reunified, Cornelius says that adoptions are one of the happiest days in the courtroom.  “Those are waterproof mascara days,” she jokes. 

There are also other ways Cornelius and her staff try to look out for children. Over the past few months she gave presentations at area schools warning teens that it is literally dangerous to give out too much information on social media. She reveals that every 2-3 months or so, her office deals with a case where a teen has been victimized by a “friend” met online. “These are only the cases we know about.  Unfortunately there are lots of youth who don’t report.”

In addition to criminal, child protection and adult protection cases, Cornelius mentions that her office has the task of advising various county offices on civil matters, such as contracts, planning and zoning, elections and tax questions.  “It really is a vast array of law that we cover here.  We have to be knowledgeable in many different areas of the law.  When we can’t answer, we make sure to seek assistance from other attorneys in order to protect Waseca County.”

Along with the difficult and routine, the job also offers moments of fulfillment. For Cornelius, one such incident happened in the summer of 2021, when, after working with many organizations and individuals, she was instrumental in helping get the “Matson Strong” legislation enacted. The law, named after Waseca Police Officer Arik Matson, stiffens the penalties for criminals who harm law enforcement personnel, including everyone from judges to correctional officers.

“The reason I take such pride,” she comments, “is because it’s very difficult to change a law. But we managed to do it with a lot of hard work and collaboration.”

In another case, she is proud to have appealed a probationary (non-prison) sentence given to a sex offender. “An appeal from the prosecution is quite unusual,” she says.  “In fact, in all my years here, this was the first appeal where I have been the one appealing the judge’s decision.”

“Generally, whether we may agree or disagree with a court’s ruling, we accept it and move on.”  However, in this case, the defendant, Timothy Wright, was supposed to go to prison for 168 months as part of a plea agreement.  However, when the defense argued for a non-prison sentence, the judge agreed. Cornelius appealed the district court’s decision to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, which ultimately ruled in her favor: Wright went to prison for 168 months.  

“It’s a difficult, often frustrating job, but there is fulfillment in knowing we are able to make a difference–sometimes in small ways, sometimes in bigger ones. I absolutely love my job in serving and protecting Waseca County,” says Cornelius.