District attorney

Law Dictionary: District Attorney

An officer of the governmental body under which he or she is operating, such as a state, county, or municipality, with the duty to prosecute all those accused of crimes. A district attorney will frequently have assistants who are similarly empowered. Also known as a prosecutor. In the federal government, district attorneys are called united states attorneys. See 28 U.S.C. §§541 et seq.

[top]District attorney

A district attorney (D.A.) is, in some U.S. jurisdictions, the title of the local public official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminals. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of assistant district attorneys. Similar functions are carried out at the local level in other jurisdictions by officers named the Commonwealth's Attorney, State's Attorney, County Attorney, or County Prosecutor. Depending on the system in place in the particular state or county, district attorneys may be appointed by the chief executive of the region or elected by the people.

Because different levels of government in the U.S. operate independently of one another, there are many differences between persons who perform this function at the federal, state, and county levels. The proper title for an appointed federal prosecutor at the local level (as opposed to an appointed U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor based in Washington, DC) is United States Attorney. Such officers are appointed by the President of the United States, serve under the Attorney General, and prosecute cases in the district courts of the federal government. United States Attorneys, in turn, hire prosecutors to handle the daily affairs of the office; they are known as Assistant United States Attorneys, or AUSAs.

Most states also have an Attorney General who oversees prosecutions throughout the state. A district attorney of a state is occasionally informally referred to as the state's attorney. Care should be taken to not confuse the two.

The equivalent position in Britain, the Republic of Ireland and many Commonwealth countries is the Director of Public Prosecutions. In Canada, it is Crown Attorney or Crown Counsel, while in Australia, it is Crown Prosecutor.


History

Scholars dispute the origins of the district attorney in America. Various theories claim Dutch, French, or English origins. Some arose uniquely in the new nation's circumstances. At the time that the thirteen colonies were formed into America, five of them had adopted the district attorney model.

[top]External links

Alabama District Attorney's Association - Office of Prosecution Services

Prosecuting Attorneys, District Attorneys, Attorneys General & US Attorneys on the Web

NDAA National District Attorneys Association

Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia - Welcome!




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