Criminal prosecution
Criminal prosecution is a fundamental aspect of the criminal justice system in the United States, where it operates within an adversarial framework. This system involves two opposing parties—the prosecution, representing the state, and the defense, representing the accused—each presenting their case to an impartial judge or jury. Prosecutors play a pivotal role beyond merely presenting evidence at trial; they also assist in investigating crimes, evaluate evidence, and determine whether to file charges, often presenting cases to a grand jury for indictment.
In the U.S., there are three primary levels of prosecution: local, state, and federal. Local prosecutors, usually elected, focus on offenses within their jurisdiction, while state prosecutors handle more complex cases, often involving multiple jurisdictions. Federal prosecutors, appointed by the president, manage cases that violate federal laws. The role of a prosecutor is not just to seek convictions but to pursue justice, guided by ethical standards that require them to disclose evidence that may suggest a defendant's innocence.
Prosecutors wield significant discretion in their decisions, which can profoundly influence the outcome of cases, including potential sentencing recommendations. This discretion has led to debates about its implications on fairness and justice within the criminal system. Overall, criminal prosecution is a multi-faceted process that balances the pursuit of justice with the enforcement of laws, reflecting the complexities of the legal system.
Criminal prosecution
SIGNIFICANCE: Criminal prosecution, or the work of criminal prosecutors, is an integral part of the criminal justice system.
The U.S. criminal justice system is an adversarial system based on the model of two opposing sides presenting their best cases to an impartial fact finder—either a jury or a judge. The side presented by the government in an effort to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendants committed the offenses for which they have been charged is presented in criminal cases by the prosecution.
The work of criminal prosecution in the United States is wider than simply presenting a case to a fact finder. Criminal prosecutors sometimes assist law-enforcement authorities in the investigation of suspected crimes, assess the strength of evidence, and make critical decisions about whom—if anyone—to charge with criminal offenses and what charges to bring. They often present these charges to a grand jury in order to have the grand jury weigh the evidence of a suspected crime and—if it is sufficient—return an indictment, or a statement of charges. Prosecutors handle hearings and arguments in court following the formal institution of charges and deal with questions such as bail or the suppression of evidence under the exclusionary rule. The vast majority of criminal charges in the United States that result in convictions never go to trial but are resolved through plea bargaining.
The prosecutor, as the representative of the government’s position in legal cases, is the principal player in this process. If a case goes to trial, the prosecutor tries it and attempts to convince the fact finder that the defendant is guilty as charged. Finally, whether a case is resolved through negotiation or trial, if a conviction is handed down, the prosecutor presents the government’s recommendation for sentencing. In many jurisdictions, the prosecutor’s sentencing recommendation is weighed heavily by the judge. In jurisdictions in which sentencing is constrained by guidelines, such as in federal court and an increasing number of states, the prosecutor’s charging decision before the case ever reaches court can have a dramatic impact on sentencing. Throughout this wide range of responsibilities, the prosecutor’s discretion in these matters is virtually unconstrained.
Systems of Prosecutors
There are three distinct levels of prosecution in the United States, each of which focuses on different offenses. Local prosecutors, often called district attorneys, handle prosecution of criminal offenses in state court for a particular county or judicial district, which may span several counties. Local prosecutors are usually elected, although some are appointed, and they may be employees of the county or state. They primarily prosecute crimes against persons or property or drug offenses. They may prosecute very serious offenses such as murder, but most of the important events and facts surrounding the offenses they prosecute generally occur within their local jurisdictions. The national organization of local district attorneys is the National District Attorneys Association.
State prosecutors, usually under the supervision of a state attorney general , represent the state in state and federal courts. The state attorney general is often elected, although sometimes this is an appointed position. State prosecutors handle criminal appeals (defending the validity of convictions on appeal) and the prosecution at the trial level of certain types of more complex criminal offenses, which are often committed in several counties or districts or even several states. These types of more complex offenses involve environmental crimes, consumer fraud , civil rights violations, and securities offenses. The organization of state attorney generals is the National Association of Attorneys General.
Finally, federal prosecutors are located in each federal judicial district, which is either a state or in more populous regions a portion of a state. Federal prosecutors, called U.S. attorneys, operate under the control of the U.S. attorney general, an officer in the cabinet of the president of the United States. The attorney general runs the U.S. Justice Department, which has hundreds of prosecutors handling the prosecution of different types of federal crimes in its “criminal division.” The attorney general also supervises U.S. attorneys, who are responsible for the local prosecution of offenses in the federal court in their judicial districts. U.S. attorneys are appointed by the U.S. president. Besides these systems of prosecutors, there are also military prosecutors, who handle cases arising under military law.
State and Local Prosecutors
State and local prosecutors in the United States are spread over more than two thousand offices. According to the 2007 statistics from the U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, there were 2,330 offices of state prosecutors employing about 78,000 lawyers, investigators, and support personnel. Slightly more than 10 percent of these offices, or 254, were concentrated in major metropolitan centers with populations over 250,000 people. About 60 percent of the prosecutors’ offices in the United States served cities and towns with populations under 100,000 people. About 15 percent of the country’s prosecutor’s operated only part-time offices. The 2007 report was the last year for which statistics were available as of 2024. The Bureau of Justice Statistics planned on having a new report available by 2026.
State and local prosecutors’ offices and procedures vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Some have particular units to prosecute particular types of offenses, such as drug crimes, sex offenses, or homicides. Others organize their staffs according to the particular courts in which they practice. In most jurisdictions prosecutors review criminal charges before they are filed. One of the most important functions of the prosecutor is to screen prospective cases and identify those that present the most significant violations, for which the public benefit from prosecution will be greatest.
Federal Prosecutors
The U.S. Justice Department is responsible for the prosecution of federal crimes in federal court. In each federal judicial district, the local U.S. attorney’s office handles federal prosecutions. From its main office in Washington, D.C., the Justice Department also centrally investigates and prosecutes violations of criminal laws and laws that may carry criminal penalties, such as civil rights violations, antitrust offenses, and consumer fraud offenses. These investigations often span more than a single federal district. The agency responsible for investigating and assisting in the prosecution of federal offenses is the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The U.S. attorney is the lawyer who represents the federal government in each judicial district. A U.S. attorney is appointed by the president of the United States with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate in each of the ninety-four federal judicial districts in the country and in U.S. territories. U.S. attorneys serve four-year terms. The U.S. attorney is the chief federal law-enforcement officer in a federal judicial district and is assisted by assistant U.S. attorneys. U.S. attorneys have extensive discretion over their staffs, resources, and prosecutorial efforts. Different districts characteristically have different focuses of investigation and prosecution. Major financial and securities cases, for example, are characteristically brought in large urban areas—particularly the southern district of New York—which includes the financial area of Wall Street in Manhattan. Drug prosecutions are brought in virtually every district and are the most common cases heard in federal court. Prosecutions for drug offenses are particularly common in the border areas of the southern districts of Florida and Texas.
The Role of the Prosecutor
The job of prosecutors is to seek justice. This is different from the role of lawyers representing accused persons. Although prosecutors represent the government, they are also charged with representing the public interest and seeing that justice is done. The prosecutor, for example, has the authority to bring and to dismiss charges. This responsibility, a public trust, has been formalized in standards of practice for prosecutors prepared by the American Bar Association (ABA), the largest bar association in the United States. First published in 1968, these Standards for Criminal Justice set forth guidelines for effective and ethical conduct by both prosecutors and defense lawyers.
The ABA standards explain that “the duty of the prosecutor is to seek justice, not merely to convict.” This means that prosecutors not only must pursue the most compelling cases for conviction but also must pursue them properly, within the applicable legal and ethical rules. They must disclose to defendants’ lawyers any evidence suggesting that defendants are innocent.
Prosecutorial Discretion
Prosecutors in the United State wield extraordinary power. Their discretionary decisions concerning the investigation, charging, prosecution, and disposition of cases are largely unreviewable. This is a uniquely American phenomenon, for which several explanations have been offered. Criminal codes are the products of political processes; many offenses appear in criminal codes not necessarily because they are common problems but because legislatures seek to declare their public abhorrence of them. Sufficient evidence is not present in every potential case, and prosecutors must make hard judgments not only about the public importance of particular cases but also the likelihood of conviction. As prosecutorial resources are limited, they must be put to the most efficient use possible. Finally, justice must be done in every case for every offense, and some defendants are better candidates for informal types of sanctions or penalties (often called “diversion”) than for formal criminal prosecution.
Bibliography
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