district attorney how many in usa

by Prof. Carmel O'Keefe MD 8 min read

U.S. Attorneys Listing

District United States Attorney
Alabama, Middle Sandra Stewart
Alabama, Northern Prim F. Escalona
Alabama, Southern Sean Costello
Alaska S. Lane Tucker *
Jun 3 2022

There are currently 93 United States Attorneys: one for each of the 94 federal judicial districts, except for Guam and the Northern Marianas, where a single U.S. Attorney serves both districts.

Full Answer

What is the salary of an US Attorney?

In keeping with the Lee County Compensation Board’s recommendation and his determination to reward and retain current staff, County Attorney Ross Braden told supervisors he is seeking a 10% salary increase for himself and his three assistant county ...

What does a district attorney do?

  • District Attorney. Job Description: A District Attorney is a public position held by an individual who has been selected to represent the state during criminal justice proceedings.
  • Assistant District Attorney. ...
  • Defense Attorney. ...
  • State’s Attorney General. ...
  • U.S. ...
  • Assistant United States Attorney. ...
  • U.S. ...

How many lawyers are there in the US?

Officer Deon Joseph with the LAPD joined "America's Newsroom" Monday to discuss the recent violence, urging Americans to respect the men and women in blue and calling them the "living embodiment of the law ... and it devalues us as human beings ...

How many prosecutors in US?

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Monday announced the extradition of a Russian national, Vladislav Klyushin, to the US from Switzerland to face charges in a multimillion-dollar scheme to trade on non-public, insider information stolen from US computer ...

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How many attorneys work for the U.S. Department of Justice?

With more than 9,500 attorneys, the Department of Justice is the largest legal employer in the world.

Who is above the district attorney?

In practice, district attorneys, who prosecute the bulk of criminal cases in the United States, answer to no one. The state attorney general is the highest law enforcement officer in state government and often has the power to review complaints about unethical and illegal conduct on the part of district attorneys.

How are district attorneys selected?

District attorneys are either elected by the local constituents they represent or appointed by the chief executive of the jurisdiction. Except for the District of Columbia and three states—Connecticut, New Jersey, and Alaska—other 47 states across the country elect their District Attorneys.

How many district attorneys are there in California?

58 electedThe district attorney's job is to seek justice in criminal cases, work to prevent crime, and serve as a leader in the diverse communities they represent. The DA is also an elected official. In California, we have 58 elected DAs each representing one of our 58 counties.

How many district attorneys does NY have?

Each of New York's 62 counties has an elected district attorney. The City of New York also has a Special Narcotics Prosecutor. Click on the map to find your district attorney.

How powerful is a district attorney?

District attorneys have the power to choose which charges are filed against an individual accused of a crime. When the police arrest someone, the district attorney's office has the power to prosecute those cases, divert the accused to a program or drug treatment, or dismiss the case altogether.

Does Canada have a district attorney?

In this respect, Ontario functions similar to the US system of district attorneys and assistant district attorneys, although within the aspects of the Canadian legal system. As crown attorneys are not elected, the Canadian prosecutorial system is often seen as less politically motivated than other systems.

Who is the DA of California?

Los Angeles County District AttorneyDistrict Attorney of Los Angeles CountyIncumbent George Gascón since December 7, 2020SeatClara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center 210 West Temple Street Los Angeles, California, United StatesTerm lengthFour yearsConstituting instrumentCharter of the County of Los Angeles5 more rows

What is a district attorney?

In the United States, a district attorney ( DA ), state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a local government area, typically a county. The exact name and scope of the office varies by state.

What is the jurisdiction of a district attorney?

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.

What is a prosecutor district?

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.

What does a county attorney do?

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.

What states use state attorneys?

State's attorney or state attorney is used in Connecticut, Florida (state attorney), Illinois, Maryland, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont. 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 and Assistant State's Attorneys (ASA) being the line-level prosecutors of the office.

What is the role of a prosecutor?

In carrying out their duties, prosecutors have the authority to investigate persons, grant immunity to witnesses and accused criminals, and plea bargain with defendants. A district attorney leads a staff of prosecutors, who are most commonly known as deputy district attorneys (DDAs).

What is a DA?

In the United States, a district attorney ( DA ), state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a local government area, typically a county. The exact name and scope of the office varies by state.

How many judicial districts are there in Indiana?

Indiana's prosecutors, known as prosecuting attorneys, are elected to the state's 91 judicial districts. Each district, with one exception, covers a single county.

Who assigns district attorneys in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma assigns its district attorneys by district .

What is a county attorney in Nebraska?

Nebraska prosecutors are known as county attorneys. Though each attorney technically serves a single county, attorneys elected in one county are sometimes appointed to serve in others

How are prosecuting attorneys assigned in Idaho?

Prosecuting attorneys in Idaho are assigned by county.

What counties in North Dakota have prosecutors?

North Dakota assigns state's attorneys by county. Their elections are non-partisan, while two counties (Golden Valley and Steele) appoint their prosecutors.

How many counties in Montana elect prosecutors?

Montana prosecutors are known as county attorneys. 54 out of 56 counties elect their prosecutors, with 2/3 holding partisan elections.

How many circuits are there in Alabama?

District attorneys in Alabama are assigned by circuit. There are 41 circuits in the state.

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Overview

In the United States, a district attorney (DA), state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a local government area, typically a county or a group of counties. The exact name and scope of the office varies by state. Alternative titles for the office include coun…

History

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

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 indictment…

Departments

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…

Nomenclature

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 jurisdictions within the United States including California, Georgia, Massachusetts,

Assistant district attorney

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, is…

Appeals

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

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.