Explain the workings of the office of the prosecution.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. On the side of the government, acting in the name of "the people," the public prosecutor tries cases against criminal defendants. The public prosecutor in federal criminal cases is called a U.S. attorney. In cases tried in state or local courts, the public prosecutor may be referred to as a prosecuting attorney, state attorney, district attorney, county attorney, or city attorney. Given their great autonomy, prosecutors are generally considered the most dominant figures in the American criminal justice system.In some jurisdictions, the district attorney is the chief law enforcement officer, with broad powers over police operations. Prosecutors have the power to bring the resources of the state against the individual and hold the legal keys to meting out or withholding punishment. Ideally, this power is balanced by a duty of fairness and a recognition that the prosecutor's ultimate goal is not to win cases, but to see that justice is done. To lessen the opportunity for "improper" behavior by prosecutors, the United States Supreme Court established the Brady rule more than half a century ago. This rule holds that prosecutors are not permitted to keep evidence from the defendant and her or his attorneys that may be useful in showing innocence. When he or she is acting as an officer of the law during a criminal trial, there are limits on the prosecutor's conduct. During the pretrial process, prosecutors hold a great deal of discretion in deciding the following:1. Whether an individual who has been arrested by the police will be charged with a crime.2. The level of the charges to be brought against the suspect.3. If and when to stop the prosecution.There are more than eight thousand prosecutor's offices around the country, serving state, county, and municipal jurisdictions. Even though the attorney general is the chief law enforcement officer in any state, she or he has limited (and in some states, no) control over prosecutors within the state's boundaries. Each jurisdiction has a chief prosecutor, who is sometimes appointed but more often elected. As an elected official, he or she typically serves a four-year term, though in some states, such as Alabama, the term is six years. In smaller jurisdictions, the chief prosecutor has several assistants, and they work closely together. In larger ones, the chief prosecutor may have numerous assistant prosecutors, many of whom he or she rarely meets. Assistant prosecutors-for the most part, young attorneys recently graduated from law school-may be assigned to particular sections of the organization, including criminal prosecutions in general or areas of special prosecution, such as narcotics or gang crimes. The chief prosecutor's autonomy is not absolute. As an elected official, she or he must answer to the voters. (There are exceptions: U.S. attorneys are nominated by the president and approved by the Senate, and chief prosecutors in Alaska, Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia are either appointed or hired as members of the attorney general's office.) In many jurisdictions, the prosecutor must declare a party affiliation and is expected to reward fellow party members with positions in the district attorney's office if elected. The post of prosecutor is also considered a "stepping-stone" to higher political office, and many prosecutors have gone on to serve in legislatures or as judges.