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The little boy and his sister were part of a child protection case Bublitz handled. Their father was abusive, she said. Their mother loved them, “but didn’t have the ability” to care for them.
After the kids were put in foster care, Bublitz said, the county tried to reunite them with their mother but ultimately had to place them in an adoptive home. A hard decision, but one that she said was best for the kids.
Bublitz keeps the photo around for when she has a bad day and needs to remind herself that even when the process is unpleasant, the outcome is worth it.
Last week, Bublitz took over the Houston County Attorney’s office after the county board appointed her to replace Rick Jackson, who left to work as a prosecutor for Olmsted County.
Bublitz’s appointment lasts through Jan. 1, 2011. She hasn’t decided yet if she will run for election in 2010.
Though she’s worked in the office for eight years, Bublitz has had to catch up on contract law, as one of her new responsibilities is providing legal counsel to the county board of commissioners.
Jackson, who was appointed as Houston County Attorney in 2000 after working as a prosecutor in the Olmsted County Attorney’s office, said leading a county attorney’s office is a challenge — especially in a small county where there aren’t separate divisions to handle criminal, civil, child protection and other specialized cases.
“It’s a steep learning curve,” he said. “Sue will climb that, and quite successfully.“
Bublitz, 40, grew up in Rochester, Minn., and attended Winona State University where she was a paralegal major because that’s what one of her cousins did.
After working for several years as a paralegal in Minneapolis law firms, Bublitz said she realized she could be an attorney. She enrolled in the William Mitchell College of Law with the idea that she would do the same type of civil law — personal injury and divorce cases mostly — that she had worked on as a paralegal.
“I had no desire to do criminal (law),” she said.
But after graduating in 1997, Bublitz landed a clerkship with Hennepin County District Judge Heidi Schellhas. She worked on juvenile delinquency and child protection cases. And she got a taste of the courtroom.
“That’s where I totally got hooked,” she said.
When she finished that assignment, Bublitz joined Houston County as an assistant county attorney.
Jackson praises Bublitz for her ability to see the big picture and to work with people — whether crime victims, defendants, social workers or others within the county system.
“She doesn’t forget that these aren’t names on a piece of paper,” Jackson said. “These are people.”
Because they serve as prosecutors for the state, county attorneys wield great power, Jackson said.
“We have to understand that power and use it fairly and judiciously,” he said. “Whether you want to or not, you impact a lot of lives. I know Sue takes that very seriously.”
Bublitz said she has adopted Jackson’s theory of prosecution. While plea bargaining is a tool available to prosecutors, Jackson, a former cop, said he doesn’t believe in letting defendants plead to lesser charges when the evidence is there, particularly in cases such as drunken driving and domestic assault, where there is a strong chance of repeat offenses.
Still, every county attorney has to establish priorities for using “very finite and limited resources,” Jackson said.
Last year, the Houston County Attorney’s office opened 360 new case files — not counting misdemeanor tickets. And many of those cases, especially child protection, can carry on for years. The biggest outstanding case is an upcoming trial for a man charged earlier this year with torching the Money Creek Haven Lodge.
Earlier this year, the office added a second assistant attorney, which Bublitz said greatly helped to clear a backlogged cases. The county is seeking a new assistant to fill Bublitz’s spot.
Bublitz will continue handling child protection cases, one of her specialties.
When she talks about the rewards of the job, she holds the photo of the two smiling kids.
“I know we did the right thing,” she said. “We got these kids a chance at life.”
Contact reporter Chris Hubbuch at (608) 791-8217 or at chris.hubbuch@lee.net.
