Mar 13, 2007 · The U.S. Attorney is nominated by the President, based on recommendations from the Senators in the particular District. Almost without exception, the appointee is from the President’s political party. When a new President is elected, we get new U.S. Attorneys. The Assistant U.S. Attorneys get to stay, under civil service rules.
Jul 01, 2012 · Of all the methods he looks at, Shugerman claims that merit selection, which involves vetting by a panel of professionals and executive appointment to a first term, followed by retention elections, has yielded the most judicial independence. It is currently employed in …
When Assistant Professor Jed Handelsman Shugerman was a law student at Yale, former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Penny White spoke as a guest in one of his classes. White was a pro-death penalty Democrat who had voted in one case to overturn a death sentence. When she ran to keep her seat, conservative groups rallied against her.
Shugerman’s book, “The People’s Courts,” is already being put to good use. Margaret Marshall, the recently retired chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, now a senior research fellow and lecturer at HLS, used it this spring to introduce her students to the history of judicial elections in her seminar on judicial independence.
The government pays for public defenders, just as it does for judges, prosecutors, police, and court personnel ( although sometimes from different government-funding streams, like city, county, or state government). As a result, defendants sometimes fear that a public defender will be in the same camp, loyalty-wise, and won't be "on my side.".
Public defenders are fully licensed lawyers whose sole job is to represent indigent defendants in criminal cases. Because they typically appear in the same courts on a daily basis, public defenders can gain a lot of experience in a short period of time.
Public defenders are paid by the government, but they work for you.
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 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, ...
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.
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).
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.
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.
Key Takeaways: Federal Judge Selection 1 The United States President nominates potential federal judges. 2 The U.S. Senate confirms or rejects the President's nominees. 3 Once confirmed, a federal judge serves for life, with no term limits. 4 In rare cases, a federal judge can be impeached for failing to uphold "good behavior" under Article II of the Constitution.
The term federal judge includes Supreme Court justices, court of appeals judges, and district court judges. These judges make up the federal court system, which litigates all U.S. federal charges, upholding the rights and liberties contained within the Constitution.
Qualifications to Become a Federal Judge 1 The Department of Justice (DOJ): The DOJ maintains a set of informal criteria used to review a potential judge 2 Congress: Congressional members suggest potential candidates to the President, using their own informal decision process.
Elianna Spitzer is a legal studies writer and a former Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism research assistant. She has also worked at the Superior Court of San Francisco's ACCESS Center. The term federal judge includes Supreme Court justices, court of appeals judges, and district court judges.
In rare cases, a federal judge can be impeached for failing to uphold "good behavior" under Article II of the Constitution. Since the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789, the federal judicial system has maintained 12 district circuits, each with its own court of appeals, regional district courts, and bankruptcy courts.
Technically, a federal judge does not have to have a law degree to sit on the bench. However, judges are vetted by two different groups. The Department of Justice (DOJ): The DOJ maintains a set of informal criteria used to review a potential judge.
The House of Representatives has the power to impeach, while the Senate has the power to try impeachments. Impeachment is extremely rare, shown by the fact that between 1804 and 2010 a total of 15 federal judges were impeached. Out of those 15, only eight were convicted.