District attorneys

SIGNIFICANCE: District attorneys are responsible for pursuing charges against persons accused of violating state criminal laws.

In many cities the chief prosecutor responsible for enforcing state criminal laws is called the district attorney and is often referred to as the DA. In some places these officials are called county prosecutors or state’s attorneys. They make decisions about which people will be charged with crimes, which charges will be filed, and which plea agreements will be accepted for presentation to a judge.

Duties of District Attorneys

District attorneys work closely with local police officials to identify suspects and crimes that should be investigated. They often must approve police officers’ requests for search warrants and arrest warrants before those requests are presented to judges in order to obtain the actual warrants. After a suspect is arrested, DAs and their assistants often make arguments to the court about setting bail or other conditions for the pretrial release of individual defendants. They must also represent the government in preliminary hearings, in which judges may consider whether there is sufficient evidence to move a case forward. District attorneys determine which charges will be filed against each defendant based on an evaluation of the evidence gathered by the police. They have the authority to drop charges and have suspects released if they believe there is insufficient evidence to pursue a case. District attorneys are not obligated to prosecute every suspect arrested by the police. Even if the prosecutor believes that the suspect might be guilty of a crime, the district attorney has a professional obligation to pursue only those cases in which there is sufficient evidence to justify initiating criminal charges.

Many cases conclude after either a plea agreement or a trial. In the plea-bargaining process the district attorney determines whether any concessions will be made, such as dropping or reducing charges, in order to gain a guilty plea from the defendant. If a defendant agrees to plead guilty, the district attorney often agrees to recommend that the judge impose a sentence less than the maximum possible punishment for the crime. If no plea agreement is arrived at after discussions between the district attorney and defense attorneys representing the defendant, then the case will go to trial. The district attorney is responsible for organizing the available evidence and then preparing and presenting evidence and arguments in court before a judge or jury. After a defendant is convicted, the district attorney may represent the government in opposing any appeals filed by the convicted offender.

Selection of District Attorneys

District attorneys must be law school graduates who have passed their state’s bar exam and have become licensed to practice law. In most places lawyers must run for election in order to become district attorneys. Successful efforts to gain election to local office usually require that attorneys be active in a political party and have the support of local political party leaders. Successful election campaigns also require that candidates raise money and gain public visibility.

The electoral process may pose problems for district attorneys. There are risks that reelection campaigns may take up so much time that they interfere with the effective fulfillment of the district attorney’s prosecutorial responsibilities. In addition, some observers fear that the process of raising money from supporters and gaining favor with politicians make district attorneys unable to make fair and equitable decisions if financial supporters or political colleagues become suspected of wrongdoing. A few states attempt to avoid such problems by having the state attorney general or chief state prosecutor appoint and supervise local prosecutors.

After a lawyer is elected district attorney, the lawyer must hire and train assistant DAs. In small cities there may be only one assistant, but in major metropolitan areas there may be hundreds of assistants under the supervision and direction of the district attorney. The district attorney must also attempt to establish policies for determining which cases will be prosecuted and which kinds of plea agreements will be acceptable. Assistant district attorneys often have substantial freedom to make decisions about what will happen in their own cases, but they must generally follow guidelines developed by the district attorney so that there is an element of consistency in the processing of criminal cases within a particular city.

Key Relationships

As the central figure in the criminal justice process, the district attorney must develop and maintain relationships with various court actors and constituents. The district attorney must cooperate with the police in order to prosecute cases effectively. The DA relies on the police to gather evidence properly and to serve as witnesses for many criminal cases. The district attorney must also work well with victims and witnesses from among members of the public. These people must be questioned with sensitivity and care, and they must be informed about the court processes and questions they will encounter in preliminary hearings and trials.

The district attorney must develop good relationships with defense attorneys and judges. The plea-bargaining process can operate smoothly if the prosecutor and defense attorney do not permit personal animosity to develop. Instead, both lawyers must recognize that they are likely to meet together repeatedly over the years as they discuss the possibility of concluding criminal cases without undertaking the time and expense of a trial.

Plea bargaining is not always adversarial, because both the prosecution and defense may gain benefits from a quick plea bargain that saves court time and seals a conviction while permitting the offender to avoid the strongest possible sentence. Similarly, district attorneys are likely to appear before the same judges year after year. Thus, there is a strong incentive to become well-acquainted with the judge and the judge’s preferences for sentencing. The district attorney does not want to waste the court’s time by, for example, recommending sentences in plea agreements that are known to be unacceptable to the presiding judge. Instead, the district attorney must often talk regularly with judges to gain an understanding of their values and philosophies about punishment and the criminal justice system.

District attorneys also seek to maintain good relationships with the news media and political parties. Such relationships are essential in efforts to gain reelection to office at the end of a term in office. These contacts also help if DAs seek higher office, because many DAs subsequently seek election to judgeships and legislatures. Thus, district attorneys often hold press conferences and submit to interviews with journalists. Typically, they attempt to portray themselves as being very tough on criminals in order to impress the voters with their effectiveness in combating crime. Relationships with political party officials are important for most district attorneys, because DAs need the parties to mobilize campaign workers and voters at each election.

Bibliography

Burden, Lisa. "District Attorneys." FindLaw, 3 Nov. 2023, www.findlaw.com/criminal/criminal-legal-help/district-attorneys.html. Accessed 25 June 2024.

Carter, Lief. The Limits of Order. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1974. Examinations of the work of local prosecutors.

Heilbroner, David. Rough Justice: Days and Nights of a Young D.A. New York: Pantheon Books, 1990. Presents perspectives of actual district attorneys on their jobs.

McDonald, William. The Prosecutor. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage, 1979. Broad presentation of topics concerning prosecutors in the United States and other countries.

Neubauer, David. Criminal Justice in Middle America. Morristown, N.J.: General Learning Press, 1974.

Parrish, Michael. For the People: Inside the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, 1850-2000. Santa Monica, Calif.: Angel City Press, 2001.

Rowland, Judith. The Ultimate Violation. New York: Doubleday, 1985.

"What Is a DA?" National District Attorneys Association, 2024, ndaa.org/about/what-does-a-da-do/. Accessed 25 June 2024.