what a deputy district attorney

by Dr. Weldon Effertz Sr. Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago 6 min read

A deputy district attorney works under the supervision of a district attorney (DA) in carrying out prosecution duties for both misdemeanor and felony court cases. When a defendant is charged with a crime, it is up to the office of the district attorney to determine whether a case can be made against that person.Feb 18, 2022

How do I become a deputy district attorney?

A deputy district attorney (DDA) is a prosecutor who works under the supervision of a district attorney (DA) in both misdemeanor and felony court cases. When a defendant is charged with a crime, the district attorney’s office is responsible for determining whether or not a case can be made against them. The deputy district attorney’s role in that determination, as well as any …

What is the difference between a deputy and an attorney?

Deputy district attorneys - sometimes called assistant district attorneys - work in government law offices under the direction of elected district attorneys. Read the pros and cons of becoming a DDA to decide if this is the right career for you.

What exactly does a district attorney do?

DDA means Deputy District Attorney. DDA. Deputy District Attorney. Abbreviation is mostly used in categories: Law Government Criminal Law Enforcement Attorney. Rating: 12. 12 votes.

What is the job description of a district attorney?

Deputy district attorneys typically assist a district attorney with screening cases for criminal prosecution, preparing and entering into criminal plea arrangements, and …

How powerful is a district attorney?

The DA has immense power in influencing an individual's decision to enter into a plea deal or to take their case to trial. More than 90 percent of all criminal cases end in a plea deal. The district attorney has the power to offer a sentence to the individual charged with a crime.

What does a US district attorney do?

A district attorney is a public official who is appointed or elected to represent the state in criminal judicial proceedings in a particular judicial district or county; an appointed or elected officer who prosecutes cases in a particular judicial district.

How much do district attorneys make?

The salaries of District Attorneys in the US range from $13,279 to $356,999 , with a median salary of $64,623 . The middle 57% of District Attorneys makes between $64,627 and $162,013, with the top 86% making $356,999.

How many district attorneys are there in the US?

Below is a listing of current United States Attorneys for all 94 districts.

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 countyor 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 informationsand/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, Delaware, Georgia, Mas…

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.