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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
Special prosecutors are created to go after one type of case and one type of case only; they come into office with the expectation that they will “do something.” This narrow mandate can lead to abuse.
When juries don't indict or convict it's because they accept officers' difficult good-faith decisions, not because prosecutors are reluctant.
Local Prosecutors Have Shown They Can Do the Job
District Attorneys Have Shown They Can Prosecute Police
That judgment represents the jury’s understanding that officers' good faith decisions, made instantaneously in difficult circumstances, should be given the benefit of the doubt and not criminalized, even when the outcome of an officer’s discretion results in an unintended tragedy like Eric Garner’s death.
In a detailed fact summary about each officer on the "Do Not Call" list, prosecutors said that the 29 former and current officers had engaged in a wide range of wrongdoing and had, as a result, often faced criminal charges or been found guilty by the department's internal Police Board of Inquiry. The offenses included numerous cases of lying to police investigators, filing false police reports, use of excessive force, drunken driving, burglary, and others.
The list was drawn up by prosecutors in March 2017 at the order of former District Attorney Seth Williams. Before Williams pleaded guilty to corruption and resigned in June, he created a special Police Misconduct Review Committee to identify officers whose testimony might be problematic in criminal cases. In deciding whose testimony should be avoided, Williams limited the review, in large part, to those found by the Police Board of Inquiry, from the summer of 2016 on, to have committed serious misconduct.
While those officers could still be called as witnesses , it was determined that defense lawyers needed to be told of their pending cases.
While such lists of "rogue" police are unusual, they are not unprecedented.
A spokesman for Commissioner Richard Ross, Capt. Sekou Kinebrew, said the department "never received this protocol.". As a result, officers were never told they were on the list, he said. The Fraternal Order of Police, the city's police union, has said it also had never received the protocol. It had no further comment Tuesday.
Cops are fighting back after a district attorney charged former officer Garrett Rolfe and officer Devin Brosnan over the shooting of Rayshard Brooks. The Democratic district attorney of Fulton County, Paul Howard, gave a bewildering press conference on Wednesday in which he announced a felony murder charge against Rolfe. If convicted, Rolfe faces a possible death sentence. At the press conference, the district attorney nitpicked the officers who were attacked while mischaracterizing the violent suspect as "not a threat" and "almost jovial" in his interaction with police.
BREAKING NEWS: Georgia police sources tell me only two police precincts are staffed in the entire city of Atlanta. Entire zones of officers are walking off the job. Zones 1,3,5 and 6 have left their posts. Zones walking off the job. #BlueLivesMatter
If convicted, Rolfe faces a possible death sentence. At the press conference, the district attorney nitpicked the officers who were attacked while mischaracterizing the violent suspect as "not a threat" and "almost jovial" in his interaction with police.
Report: Jurisdictions to the N of ATL have informed APD they will only respond to "officer down" or "major tactical incident"
Police officers interact with the district attorney’s office by investigating criminal offenses and collecting the evidence needed to prosecute a case. This takes the form of a police report which contains all of the relevant facts on the case.
A prosecutor who has attended a police academy is familiar with report writing “lingo” and the elements of offenses. Also, this person could help spot another officer who is possibly fudging police reports by writing frequently similar reports.
This is because the person is already familiar with the report writing lingo and will know what the officer is reporting.
It is important because officer presentation in the courtroom helps strengthen their credibility and professionalism. Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a day-long lecture here in Corpus Christi called Effective Courtroom Testimony that was put on by the TDCAA. This lecture brought prosecutors and police officers together in the same room to learn about common issues. This particular issue is currently being dealt with by explaining to officers that they need to visit the courtroom first and try out the witness stand and sit in the chair in full uniform if they are not familiar with it. Additionally, officers can always call the prosecutor and ask to stop by for a short visit to get comfortable with where the officer will wait and a short run of questions to get a feel for how things will proceed.
They are the first responders to the scene of an accident or at the occurrence of a crime. They collect all the facts, data, and information that helps us prosecutors do our jobs in the courtroom. Naturally, when police officers wish to change career directions but want to remain in the legal field, this decision creates a valuable opportunity for a district attorney’s office.
A prosecutor who understands this will know why an officer took immediate forceful action against a suspect who began to deceptively clench his fists and delivered the 100-yard stare when the media and the defense counsel are trying to make a case for the officer’s use of excessive force. This individual would be able to explain that the suspect was about to initiate the fight of his life against an arresting officer and the officer recognized this before everyone else because of his skill and training and does not need to wait for that to occur in order to protect himself and others. This type of situation is a typical officer safety issue that is often discussed.
If a prosecutor carries an active peace officer’s license, that person could serve subpoenas on behalf of the district attorney’s office as part of his or her job duties. This is a great benefit to the office as it relieves some of the work that Investigators must do. However, there is a recently released Texas Attorney General’s Opinion that discusses this issue and is worth taking the time to read. [i]
Six Atlanta police officers have been charged for assaulting two college students who were attempting to leave a protest Saturday. Two of the officers involved have already been fired from the department.
Ivory Streeter also faces one count of aggravated assault for the use of a Taser and one count of pointing or aiming a gun. Mark Gardner has been charged with aggravated assault for using his Taser as well. Armon Jones has been charged with one count of aggravated battery and one count of pointing or aiming a gun.
Armon Jones has been charged with one count of aggravated battery and one count of pointing or aiming a gun. Roland Claud was the only officer to not be charged with assault or battery but faces one count of criminal damage to property for damaging the car.
One officer opens the passenger-side door as another attempts to break the driver-side window. The officer on the passenger side then uses his Taser on Pilgrim, who could be heard screaming throughout the encounter. Young can also be seen being tased before officers pull him from the car.
Howard said Tuesday this is the third time ever that the DA's office has brought charges for police officers before they were indicted. He also noted that Young and Pilgrim were "extremely innocent."
Lonnie Hood faces two counts of aggravated assault for using his Taser and one count of simple battery .
A DA Investigator is level II or III. (But if a city or County officer assigned to the DA's office, then level I)
Iowa: To add to DaBigBR, it's not required to be a cop, but my county attorney's office only hires state certified peace officers to be County Attorney Investigators.
And to add to that, the DA will deputize officers in a task force so they aren't confined to their regular limited local jurisdictions. I believe their jurisdiction extends to all of the District Attorney's district which may encompass multiple counties.
in some states investigators for the district attorney's office are certified cops, not guys who use to be cops or use to be full time cops and do just enough part time somewhere to keep their certification up....but actual law enforcement officers.
Two of the six officers, Streeter and Gardner, were terminated Sunday by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. The officers have until the end of the day on June 5 to surrender, Howard said. A $10,000 signature bond has been set for all six officers. CNN is working to contact the officers.
(CNN) Six Atlanta Police officers are being charged with using excessive force during an arrest of two college students at a protest on Saturday night, Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced Tuesday.
One of the officers wrote in a police report that he used his taser because he was unsure whether Pilgrim or Young were armed. Atlanta mayor trying to strike 'tough balance' between criticizing police and supporting well-intentioned ones amid protests. "I heard officers say gun two-three times," the officer wrote.
They were on their way home from picking up food when they got caught in traffic downtown caused by a protest of police violence against black citizens.
Arrest warrants have been issued for Lonnie Hood, Willie Sauls, Ivory Streeter, Mark Gardner, Armond Jones and Roland Claud. Some of the charges against the officers include aggravated assault of Messiah Young, aggravated assault of Taniyah Pilgrim, simple battery and criminal damage to property, Howard said.
Pilgrim, 20, said she and her friend Young were riding home from protests when the incident took place.
Bottoms had said she was disturbed when she saw the video and ordered charges to be dropped against the man who was tased. The woman was not charged.
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…
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 through informations and/or grand jury indictment…
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…
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,
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.
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.