# Carver County Attorney's Office *Office of the elected county attorney of Carver County, Minnesota* The Carver County Attorney's Office is the office of the elected [[county attorney]] of Carver County, [[Minnesota]]. Its *Office Overview* page says the county attorney serves "in a role that is similar to that of an in-house corporate counsel." It also says the office "contracts with ten of Carver County's eleven cities" for municipal prosecution, and it lists 34 employees, 19 of them attorneys.[^1] The same page assigns the Civil Division "data privacy compliance under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act."[^1] Chapter 13 of Minnesota Statutes is the [[Minnesota Government Data Practices Act]]. Its law-enforcement data section, [[§ 13.82]], classifies active criminal investigative data as confidential.[^2][^3] On February 9, 2018, the office opposed releasing [[Prince investigative data]] to lawyers for Prince's estate. It stated that the data "remains confidential until the Carver County Attorney makes the decision to charge or decline any criminal charge."[^4] The county closed the investigation with no criminal charges. On April 20, 2018, the day after that declination, it published the investigative file, 15 gigabytes of material.[^5][^6] In 2014, County Attorney Mark Metz told voters that "Our office will always listen, practice transparency when allowed by privacy laws, and explain what we did and why we did it."[^7] The 2018 record sets two acts beside that statement. Both concern the same body of records, and they took place seventy days apart. First, the office withheld the data pending its own charging decision. Then, after it declined to charge, it published the file.[^4][^5] ## Who The office is headed by the elected County Attorney. Its *Staff Information* page, as captured in the record, carries a header reading "elected 2010, re-elected 2014, 2018."[^8] The page lists Chief Deputy County Attorney Jennifer Tichey and four division managers: Lynn Walters (Civil), Angella Erickson (Criminal), Jennifer Christensen (Juvenile) and Nancy E.M. Yates (Victim-Witness).[^8] The county's official biography page identifies Mark Metz as County Attorney and lists his service on the MCAA Board of Directors.[^9] Metz's faculty biography at [[Mitchell Hamline School of Law]] gives the following details:[^10] - he is a graduate of William Mitchell; - he clerked for Judge James A. Morrow of Anoka County District Court; - he is an Adjunct/Affiliated Professor in the Advocacy program; - he has argued before the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]]. The biography lists a contact number, 952-361-1399, which the record identifies as a Carver County Attorney's Office line.[^10] Metz ran unopposed in 2014. In a question-and-answer with the *Sun Patriot* that year, he described his career as clerking for a judge, then 7.5 years as an Assistant McLeod County Attorney, then four years as an Assistant Carver County Attorney "prosecuting cases."[^7] The same piece put his adjunct teaching at William Mitchell at eight years as of 2014.[^7] The *Chanhassen Villager*'s account of the Prince death investigation names Chief Deputy County Attorney Peter Ivy as a member of the investigation team.[^5] The staff page in the record lists Jennifer Tichey as Chief Deputy County Attorney. Each source reflects its own date.[^8] ## What The office's documented outputs in this record concern custody of investigative data. In February 2018 the law firm Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben, acting for Prince's estate, sought investigative data about his death. The office opposed the release. It stated: "This confidential law enforcement data remains confidential until the Carver County Attorney makes the decision to charge or decline any criminal charge."[^4] After the office declined to charge, the county published the file.[^5][^6] ## When - **February 9, 2018.** The office formally opposed release of the Prince investigative data sought by the estate's counsel.[^4] - **April 2018.** The county closed the Prince death investigation without criminal charges.[^6] - **April 20, 2018.** On the day after the declination, the county published the investigative file, seventy days after the February opposition.[^5] ## Where The office serves Carver County, Minnesota. Its criminal prosecution extends to municipal cases under contracts with ten of the county's eleven cities.[^1] ## Why The office cited one basis for withholding the data: active criminal investigative data are confidential under § 13.82 until a charging decision is made.[^3][^4] The record does not establish the office's reasons for the timing of the April release beyond the statements quoted above. ## How Chapter 13 governs the classification of government data in Minnesota. Section 13.82 classifies active criminal investigative data as confidential, and an investigation remains active until the responsible authority decides whether to charge.[^2][^3] The record identifies the county attorney as that authority.[^3] The same office therefore holds the data and makes the decision that ends the data's confidential classification.[^3][^4] ## How much The released file comprised hundreds of reports totalling over 200 pages, plus thousands of photographs and videos. In all it amounted to 15 gigabytes.[^5] ## How many Over 40,000 people accessed the published investigative file.[^5] The office lists 34 employees, of whom 19 are attorneys.[^1] ## In the at-issue record - **Pair AI-Carver-001 (Block A, the custody mechanism; rank 1).** The pair has two parts: - On February 9, 2018, the office stated that the Prince investigative data stay confidential until the county attorney decides whether to charge.[^4] - The data were published on April 20, 2018, the day after the declination.[^5][^6] The pair states the resulting sequence as follows. The data are sealed until the decision is made. The decision is made by the party holding the data. No external party appears anywhere in the sequence.[^3][^4] The pair's anchor is a 2025 White House presidential action on eliminating information silos.[^11] - **Related federal action.** The dossier section underlying the pair compares the Carver sequence with a pending federal action. The United States sued Minnesota Secretary of State [[Steve Simon]] for voter-roll records in *United States v. Steve Simon*, No. 0:25-cv-03761 (D. Minn., filed Sept. 25, 2025). The complaint seeks voter-roll disclosure under HAVA § 303.[^12] The complaint states allegations; the record carries no later status. ## Notes [^1]: Carver County Attorney's Office, *Office Overview* (undated) — in-house-counsel role statement; contracts with ten of eleven cities for municipal prosecution; 34 employees, 19 attorneys; Civil Division data-privacy duties. https://www.carvercountymn.gov/departments/county-attorney/office-overview [^2]: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota Statutes, chapter 13* (current) — Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/13 [^3]: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota Statutes § 13.82, Law Enforcement Data* (current) — classification of active criminal investigative data as confidential. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/13.82 [^4]: FOX 9, *Carver County attorney objects to releasing data about Prince's death* (Feb. 2018) — the office's stated position; data sought by Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben for the estate. https://www.fox9.com/news/carver-county-attorney-objects-to-releasing-data-about-princes-death [^5]: Chanhassen Villager, *Behind the Prince investigation: Following every lead* (undated) — 15 gigabytes released; over 40,000 accesses; hundreds of reports over 200 pages; thousands of photos and videos; investigation team including Chief Deputy County Attorney Peter Ivy. https://swnewsmedia.com/chanhassen_villager/news/public_safety/behind-the-prince-investigation-following-every-lead/article_20126cb4-11cc-51d7-b461-8daa93e8b8b1.html [^6]: Star Tribune, *Carver County closes Prince death investigation with no criminal charges* (Apr. 2018) — closure of the investigation without charges. https://www.startribune.com/carver-county-closes-prince-death-investigation-with-no-criminal-charges/480252103 [^7]: Sun Patriot / hometownsource.com, *Q&A — Carver County Attorney* (2014) — career history; eight years adjunct at William Mitchell; transparency statement; unopposed in 2014. https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_patriot/news/local/q-a---carver-county-attorney/article_e118028a-0fdf-5cad-be0a-17bfffb06e64.html [^8]: Carver County Attorney's Office, *Staff Information* (undated) — Chief Deputy Jennifer Tichey; division managers; header "elected 2010, re-elected 2014, 2018." https://www.carvercountymn.gov/departments/county-attorney/staff-information [^9]: Carver County, *Mark Metz, County Attorney* (undated) — official biography; MCAA Board of Directors. https://www.carvercountymn.gov/departments/county-attorney/mark-metz-county-attorney [^10]: Mitchell Hamline School of Law, *Faculty biography: Mark Metz* (undated) — William Mitchell graduate; clerk to Judge James A. Morrow; Adjunct/Affiliated Professor, Advocacy program; has argued before the Minnesota Supreme Court; listed contact number. https://mitchellhamline.edu/biographies/?person=mark-metz [^11]: The White House, *Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos* (Mar. 2025) — presidential action named as the at-issue pair's anchor. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/ [^12]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Complaint, United States v. Steve Simon*, No. 0:25-cv-03761 (D. Minn., filed Sept. 25, 2025) — HAVA § 303 voter-roll disclosure; allegations. https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1415121/dl