The valley region known to its residents as Ohto County defies easy governmental and administrative description. Residents describe the region as a county, but a county of what is a question to which nobody seems to know the answer. New Vaarashire has a County Courthouse, and maintains county administrative duties at the court house, including keeping offices for county judges, and the county sheriff. Lacking outside intervention, the judge and sheriff are both appointed by the New Vaarashire town council. Both positions are frequently used as rewards for loyal allies of which ever Old Family is able to gain control of the Town Council at any particular.
In many ways, Ohto County is less an administrative region than it is an ongoing cold war and very polite blood feud.
Sheriff
The office of sheriff is an appointed county official who serves as the chief civilian law enforcement officer. Officially, the sheriff enforces court orders, evictions and similar, serving warrants and legal papers, and serves as the principal police force. The Sherriff runs the county jail and courthouse security.
The Sheriffs are technically peace officers and in theory are duty bound and have a responsibility to protect people and act in response to life threatening situations they see in the carrying out of their duties. In practice however; the Sherriff is appointed by the town council and has historically been a highly partisan office in Ohto County. The Sherriff has frequently been used as little more than an officially sanctioned thug for either the Linna or Sundberg family depending on which family managed to gain control of the Town Council.
County Court
Ohto County maintains a single Court house and a single County Judge who administers the running of the court. The county also maintains two lawyers who act as public defender and prosecuting attorney as needed. As with the Sheriff, the County Judge is an appointed position, appointed again by the town council. And as with the sheriff, the County Judge is frequently a highly partisan position. And depending upon which family is currently in control of the Courthouse, many people with charges against them may simply flee to the Elder Warrens to hide until a new judge is appointed.
The only private practicing attorneys in the county are the rival law offices who serve the Linna and Sundberg families. The Sundberg family is served by the offices of Pickman and Carter. The Linna Family is served by the office of Barghest, Kilburn, and Associates.
Professor Harbinger's School for Villains 