District attorney

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District attorney

Occupation

Occupation Profession
type

Activity sectors Law practice, law enforcement, politics

Description

Competencies Advocacy skills, analytical mind, sense of

justice, political fit

Education Law degree, bar exam

required

Fields of Government legal service

employment

Related jobs Prosecutor, state's

attorney, commonwealth's
attorney, United States attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA) or state's attorney is the
chief prosecutor for a local government area, typically a county. The exact
name and scope of the office varies by state. Alternative titles for the office
include state's attorney, county attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or
county prosecutor.
The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case
against an individual suspected of breaking the law, initiating and directing
further criminal investigations, guiding and recommending the sentencing of
offenders, and are the only attorneys allowed to participate in grand jury
proceedings. The prosecutors decide what criminal charges to bring, and
when and where a person will answer to those charges. In carrying out their
duties, prosecutors have the authority to investigate persons, grant
immunity to witnesses and accused criminals, and plea bargain with
defendants.[1]
A district attorney leads a staff of prosecutors, who are most commonly
known as deputy district attorneys (DDAs). The Deputy who serves as the
supervisor of the office is often called the Assistant District Attorney. The
majority of prosecutions will be delegated to DDAs, with the district attorney
prosecuting the most important cases and having overall responsibility for
their agency and its work. Depending upon the system in place, DAs may
be appointed by the chief executive of the jurisdiction or elected by local
voters.

Contents

 1History
 2Role
 3Departments
 4Nomenclature
 5Assistant district attorney
 6Appeals
 7District attorney investigators
 8Other jurisdictions
 9See also
 10References
 11External links

History[edit]
This term for a prosecutor originates with the traditional use of the term
"district" for multi-county prosecutorial jurisdictions in several U.S. states.
For example, New York appointed prosecutors to multi-county districts prior
to 1813. Even after those states broke up such districts and started
appointing or electing prosecutors for individual counties, they continued to
use the title "district attorney" for the most senior prosecutor in a county
rather than switch to "county attorney".

Role[edit]
The principal duties of the district attorney are usually mandated by law and
include representing the State in all criminal trials for crimes which occurred
in the district attorney's geographical jurisdiction. The geographical
jurisdiction of a district attorney may be delineated by the boundaries of a
county, judicial circuit, or judicial district.
Their duties generally include charging crimes through informations and/or
grand jury indictments. After levying criminal charges, the state's attorney
will then prosecute those charged with a crime. This includes
conducting discovery, plea bargaining, and trial.
In some jurisdictions, the district attorney may act as chief counsel for city
police, county police, state police and all state law enforcement agencies
within the state's attorney's jurisdiction.
In some jurisdictions, the district attorney oversees the operations of local
prosecutors with respect to violations of county ordinances. In other
jurisdictions, the district attorney prosecutes traffic matters and/or
misdemeanors. In some states the district attorney prosecutes violations of
state laws to the extent that the state permits local prosecution of these.
District attorneys do not prosecute federal crimes, which are the jurisdiction
of a United States Attorney.
Many district attorneys also bear responsibilities not related to criminal
prosecution. These include defending the county against civil suits,
occasionally initiating such suits on behalf of the county, preparing or
reviewing contracts entered into by the county and providing legal advice
and counsel to local government. In some jurisdictions, the county attorney
does not handle any criminal matters at all, but serves only as the legal
counsel to the county.
For example, in Arizona, Missouri, Montana, and Minnesota a county attorney
represents the county and state within their county, prosecutes
all felonies occurring within the county, and
prosecutes misdemeanors occurring within unincorporated areas of the county.
In Ohio a county prosecutor represents the county and state within their
county, prosecutes all crimes within the county, and is legal adviser to the
board of county commissioners, board of elections, and all other county
officers and boards.[2] On the other hand, county attorneys
in Kentucky and Virginia[3] prosecute only certain misdemeanors and
sometimes traffic matters and serve as legal counsel for their county, with
felony prosecutions and prosecutions of offenses not handled by the county
attorney being the responsibility of the commonwealth's attorney for the
given county.

Departments[edit]
The district attorney usually divides their services into several departments
that handle different areas of criminal law. Each department is staffed by
several duly appointed and sworn ASAs. The departments of a large district
attorney's office may include but are not limited
to: felony, misdemeanor, domestic violence, traffic, juvenile, charging (or case
filing), drug prosecution, forfeitures, civil affairs such as eminent domain,
child advocacy, child support, victim assistance, appeals, career criminal
prosecution, homicide, investigations, organized crime/gang, and
administration.

Nomenclature[edit]
The name of the role of local prosecutor may vary by state or jurisdiction
based on whether they serve a county or a multi-county district, the
responsibility to represent the state or county in addition to prosecution, or
local historical customs.
District attorney and assistant district attorney are the most common titles
for state prosecutors, and are used by several major jurisdictions within the
United States, such
as California, Delaware, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.
State's attorney or state attorney is used in Connecticut, Florida (State
attorneys), Illinois, Maryland, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont.
In Kentucky and Virginia, the title is commonwealth's attorney.
Commonwealth's attorneys are elected in their respective jurisdictions in
both Virginia and Kentucky[4] for terms of four years and six years,
respectively.
In St. Louis, Missouri, the title is circuit attorney,[5] while in St. Louis County,
Missouri, the title is prosecuting attorney.[6]

Assistant district attorney[edit]

The assistant district attorney (assistant DA, ADA) (or state prosecutor or
assistant state's attorney) is a law enforcement official who represents the
state government on behalf of the district attorney in investigating and
prosecuting individuals alleged to have committed a crime. In carrying out
their duties to enforce state and local laws, ADAs have the authority to
investigate persons, issue subpoenas, file formal criminal charges, plea
bargain with defendants, and grant immunity to witnesses and accused
criminals.[1]
Administrative assistant district attorney (admin ADA), executive assistant
district attorney (exec ADA), chief assistant district attorney (chief ADA),
or first assistant district attorney (First ADA) are some of the titles given to
the senior ADA leadership working under the DA. The chief ADA or first
ADA, depending on the office, is generally considered the second-in-
command, and usually reports directly to the DA. The exact roles and job
assignments for each title vary with each individual office, but generally
include management of the daily activities and supervision of specialized
divisions within the office. Often, a senior ADA may oversee or prosecute
some of the larger crimes within the jurisdiction. In some offices, the Exec
ADA has the responsibility of hiring lawyers and support staff, as well as
supervising press-releases and overseeing the work of the office.[citation needed]
The salary of an ADA will be lower than the elected DA. The non-monetary
benefits of the job induce many to work as an ADA; these include the
opportunity to amass trial experience, perform a public service, and network
professionally.[7]
Upon leaving employment as an ASA, persons seek employment as a
judge, in private law firms, or as U.S. Attorneys.

Appeals[edit]
Depending on state law, appeals are moved to appellate courts (also called
appeals courts, courts of appeals, superior courts, or supreme courts in
some states). During the appeals process district attorneys, in many cases,
hands all relative prosecutorial materials to a state appellate prosecutor
who in turn will represent the state in appellate courts with the advice and
consent of the district attorney.

District attorney investigators[edit]

Some district attorneys maintain their own law enforcement arm whose
members are sworn peace officers. Depending on the jurisdiction, they are
referred to as district attorney investigators or county detectives.

Other jurisdictions[edit]
In the United Kingdom, the equivalent position to a district attorney is
a chief  crown prosecutor,[8] and the equivalent to an assistant district attorney is
a crown prosecutor.[9] These prosecutors work under the Crown Prosecution
Service in England and Wales, the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland, and the Director
of Public Prosecutions in Northern Ireland. In many other countries, the title of
the chief prosecuting officer is Director of Public Prosecutions.
In Canada, the equivalent position to a district attorney is a crown
attorney, crown counsel or Crown Prosecutor depending on the province, and
the equivalent to an assistant district attorney is the assistant crown attorney,
assistant crown counsel or assistant crown prosecutor respectively.

See also[edit]
 List of district attorneys by county
 Allegheny County District Attorney
 Baltimore County State's Attorney
 Bronx County District Attorney
 Commonwealth's attorney
 Cook County State's Attorney
 Dallas County District Attorney
 Denver District Attorney's Office
 District Attorney of Philadelphia
 Essex County Prosecutor's Office
 King County Prosecuting Attorney
 Kings County District Attorney
 Law and order (politics)
 Los Angeles County District Attorney
 Milwaukee County District Attorney
 New York County District Attorney
 Prosecuting Attorney of Honolulu
 Queens County District Attorney
 Richmond County District Attorney
 San Diego County District Attorney
 San Francisco District Attorney's Office

References[edit]
1. ^ Jump up to:a b "Standards on Prosecutorial
Investigations". abanet.org. American Bar Association.
2017. Archived from the original on December 19, 2017.
Retrieved November 13, 2017.
2. ^ The Office of the County Prosecuting Attorney is granted
its authority by Ohio Revised Code Chapter 309
3. ^ "Virginia Code § 15.2-1542. Creation of office of county,
city or town attorney authorized; appointment, salary and
duties". law.lis.virginia.gov. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
4. ^ "Commonwealth's and County Attorneys". Kentucky
Attorney General. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
 5. ^ "City Of St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office – Kimberly M.
Gardner – Circuit Attorney". www.circuitattorney.org.
Retrieved November 13, 2017.
6. ^ "Home". www.stlouiscopa.com. Retrieved November
9, 2018.
7. ^ "Abogado LA". Tuesday, 12 March 2019
8. ^ "About The CPS  : Chief Crown
Prosecutors". www.cps.gov.uk. Retrieved November
13, 2017.
9. ^ "Crown Prosecutor Careers: The Crown Prosecution
Service". www.cps.gov.uk. Retrieved November 13, 2017.

External links[edit]
Wikisource has the text of
the 1905 New International
Encyclopedia article District
Attorney.

 National District Attorneys Association website

 Prosecuting Attorneys, District Attorneys, Attorneys
General & US Attorneys on the Web—indexes
prosecutor web sites throughout the USA and
other countries
Categories: 
 County officers in the United States
 District attorneys
 Lawyers by type
 Prosecution
 United States law
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