 Shield of an Assistant District Attorney (ADA) | |
| Occupation | |
|---|---|
Occupation type | Profession |
Activity sectors | Law practice,law enforcement,politics |
| Description | |
| Competencies | Advocacy skills, analytical mind, sense of justice, political fit |
Education required | Juris Doctor degree,bar exam |
Fields of employment | Government legal service |
Related jobs | Prosecutor,state's attorney,commonwealth's attorney,United States attorney |
In theUnited States, adistrict attorney (DA),county attorney,county prosecutor,state's attorney, prosecuting attorney,commonwealth's attorney, orsolicitor is the chiefprosecutor or chief law enforcement officer representing aU.S. state in alocal government area, typically acounty or a group of counties. The exact scope of the office varies by state. Generally, the prosecutor is said to represent the people of the jurisdiction in thestate's courts, typically in criminal matters, against defendants. District attorneys are elected in almost all states,[1] and the role is generally partisan. This is unlike similar roles in other common law jurisdictions, where chief prosecutors are appointed based on merit and expected to be politically independent.
The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case against an individual suspected of breaking the state'scriminal law, initiating and directing further criminal investigations, guiding and recommending the sentencing of offenders, and are the only attorneys allowed to participate ingrand 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, andplea bargain with defendants.[2]
A district attorney or state attorney leads an office of other prosecutors and related staff. Staff attorneys are most commonly known as assistant district attorneys (ADAs) or deputy district attorneys (DDAs); in states where the head of office is called state attorney the staff attorneys are usually referred to as Assistant State Attorney (ASAs)[3] Most prosecutions will be delegated to the assistant attorneys, with the head-of-office sometimes prosecuting the most important cases and having overall responsibility for the agency and its work. Most criminal matters in the United States are handled instate judicial systems, but a comparable office for theUnited States Federal government is theUnited States Attorney.
In most states, DAs are directly elected. They are appointed InAlaska,Connecticut, andNew Jersey.[1] In theDistrict of Columbia, the appointedUnited States Attorney is responsible for prosecuting offenses under theDC Code, in addition to prosecuting federal offenses.[1] InRhode Island andDelaware there are no DAs, instead the respective state's electedAttorney General prosecutes crimes.[4][5]
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".
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 throughinformations or grand jury indictments. After levying criminal charges, the state's attorney will then prosecute those charged with a crime. This includes conductingdiscovery,plea bargaining, andtrial.
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 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 aUnited States Attorney.
Many district attorneys also bear responsibilities not related to criminal prosecution. These include defending the county againstcivil suits, occasionally initiating such suits on behalf of the county, preparing or reviewingcontracts 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, inArizona,Missouri,Montana, andMinnesota a county attorney represents the county and state within their county, prosecutes allfelonies occurring within the county, and prosecutesmisdemeanors occurring withinunincorporated areas of the county. Minnesota county attorneys also prosecute all juvenile cases, regardless of severity. InOhio 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.[6] On the other hand, county attorneys inKentucky andVirginia[7] 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.
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.
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 andassistant district attorney are the most common titles for state prosecutors, and are used by jurisdictions within the United States includingCalifornia,Georgia,Massachusetts,Nevada,New Mexico,New York,North Carolina,Oklahoma,Oregon,Pennsylvania,Texas,Utah, andWisconsin.
State's attorney orstate attorney is used inConnecticut,Florida (state attorney),Illinois,Maryland,North Dakota,South Dakota, andVermont. In Maryland, the roles of Assistant and Deputy are reversed from those used in "District Attorney" jurisdictions, with Deputy State's Attorney being the primary subordinate to the elected State's Attorney[a] and Assistant State's Attorneys (ASA) being the line-level prosecutors of the office.
Commonwealth's attorney is used inVirginia andKentucky. Kentucky splits the role between two officials—by statute, thecommonwealth's attorney serves in the Circuit Court (the court of general jurisdiction), and thecounty attorney serves in the limited-jurisdiction District Court, although the two officials may enter into a written agreement to split their duties as they see fit.[8] Commonwealth's attorneys are elected in their respective jurisdictions in both Virginia and Kentucky[9] for terms of four years and six years,[10] respectively. Kentucky's county attorneys are elected in their jurisdictions to four-year terms.[11]
County attorney is used inArizona,Missouri,Montana,Minnesota, andNew Hampshire.[12] Note that in other states thecounty attorney may refer to a separate office with different responsibilities.[8][13]
County prosecutor is used inNew Jersey. This role differs from most other states as it is appointed rather than elected.[1]
Solicitor,[b] or more fully acircuit solicitor, is the term South Carolina uses to refers to its prosecutors.[14] One solicitor is elected for each of the state's 16 judicial circuits, consisting of two to five counties.[14][15] Appointed assistants to a circuit solicitor areassistant solicitors.[15]
Prosecuting attorney is used inArkansas,Hawaii,Idaho,Indiana,Michigan,Missouri (except in St. Louis, see below),Ohio,Washington, andWest Virginia.
Circuit attorney is used inSt. Louis, Missouri.[16]
InRhode Island andDelaware, criminal prosecutions are handled by the state's Attorney General. The title used for staff prosecutors isassistant attorney general in Rhode Island, anddeputy attorney general in Delaware.
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, ADA have the authority to investigate persons, issue subpoenas, file formal criminal charges, plea bargain with defendants, and grant immunity to witnesses and accused criminals.[2]
Administrative assistant district attorney (admin ADA),executive assistant district attorney (exec ADA),[c]chief assistant district attorney (chief ADA), orfirst assistant district attorney (First ADA) are some of the titles given to the senior ADA leadership working under the DA. The chief ADA, Executive 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 thejurisdiction. 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.[17] Upon leaving employment as an ADA, persons seek employment as a judge, in private law firms, or asU.S. Attorneys.
Depending on state law, appeals are moved toappellate 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. In other cases, such as in New York, the District Attorney's Office will have in-house appellate prosecutors who handle appeals.
Some district attorneys maintain their own law enforcement arm whose members are swornpeace officers. Depending on the jurisdiction, they are referred to asdistrict attorney investigators orcounty detectives.
InEngland and Wales, the vast majority of criminal prosecutions are prosecuted by theCrown Prosecution Service. The CPS is headed by theDirector of Public Prosecutions, who is appointed by theAttorney General for England and Wales. Within the CPS, 14 Chief Crown Prosecutors, answering to the DPP, head regional teams of Crown Prosecutors.[18] With the exception of the AG andSolicitor General for England and Wales, no prosecutors are political officials in England and Wales and no prosecutor in England and Wales is a law enforcement official by virtue of their job.
InCanada, the equivalent position to a district attorney is acrown attorney,crown counsel orcrown prosecutor depending on the province, and the equivalent to anassistant district attorney is the assistant crown attorney, assistant crown counsel or assistant crown prosecutor respectively. Some provinces appoint aDirector of Public Prosecutions.
InIndia, the equivalent position to a District Attorney is typically called a "Public Prosecutor." Public Prosecutors represent the state in criminal cases and are responsible for prosecuting individuals accused of committing crimes. They work under the supervision of the Director of Prosecutions or theAdvocate General at the state level, depending on the specific legal framework of the state.
