DISTRICT AND PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS
The elected or appointed public officers of each
state, county, or other political subdivision who
institute criminal proceedings on behalf of the
government.
Federal attorneys who represent the United
States in prosecuting federal offenses are U.S.
attorneys.
A district or prosecuting attorney is the legal
representative of the state, county, or municipal-
ity, whose primary function resides in institut-
ing criminal proceedings against violators of
state or municipal penal laws. The law of the
particular jurisdiction determines whether they
are appointed or elected to office and their term
of office.
The legislature may, within the restrictions
imposed by constitution or statute, prescribe
the qualifications of the prosecuting attorney.
He or she may be required to reside in the dis-
trict or satisfy a particular minimum-age requi-
site. District attorneys usually must be
attorneys-at-law who are licensed to practice in
the state and, depending upon the jurisdiction,
must have spent a specified number of years
practicing law.
The duty of the district attorney is to ensure
that offenses committed against the public are
rectified pursuant to the commencement of
criminal prosecutions. He or she may exercise
considerable discretion in ascertaining the man-
ner in which the duty of district attorney should
be performed. The prosecuting attorney, how-
ever, must be fair and unbiased, and refrain
from conduct that would deprive the defendant
of any constitutional or statutory right. The leg-
islature may regulate his or her functions within
statutory or constitutional limitations.
A district attorney determines when to initi-
ate a particular prosecution and must exercise
due diligence in conducting the prosecution.
The individual may neither restrain the GRAND
JURY from considering charges by asserting that
the government will not prosecute nor dismiss a
criminal charge pending before it. He or she
does, however, maintain control of criminal
proceedings in the trial court. Statutes define the
duties of the prosecuting attorney with respect
to civil litigation.
The respective powers of the district attorney
and of the ATTORNEY GENERAL, the principal
law officer of the state, are ordinarily disparate.
Neither the district attorney nor the attorney
464 DISTRIBUTEE
WEST’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 2nd Editiongeneral may impinge upon powers reserved
exclusively to the other.
A district attorney is immune from liability
for damages incurred as a result of his or her acts
or omissions that occur within the scope of offi-
cial duties, although the person may be held
liable for conduct in excess of such scope.
Statutes prescribe the compensation of pros-
ecuting attorneys.
A prosecuting attorney whose term is regu-
lated by law cannot be removed or suspended
from office, other than pursuant to the manner
authorized by constitution or statute. The
grounds specified by law govern removal. Mere
misconduct committed in office, such as habit-
ual intoxication, is usually an insufficient basis
for removal. In some jurisdictions, however,
conduct that is entirely extraneous to official
duties may reveal flaws in personal character
that render the individual unfit to hold the office
and subject him or her to removal.
Suspension or removal may ensue from offi-
cial misconduct or neglect of duty, such as the
improper refusal to initiate criminal investiga-
tions or prosecutions, or inept execution of such
proceedings.
Removal may also be justified on the basis of
the prosecuting attorney’s failure to comply with
the constitutional duties of disclosure imposed
by Brady v.Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S. Ct. 1194,
10 L. Ed. 2d 215 (1963). The Supreme Court
held that “the suppression by the prosecution of
evidence favorable to an accused upon request
violates DUE PROCESS where the evidence is
material either to guilt or to punishment, irre-
spective of the GOOD FAITH or bad faith of the
prosecution.”
Removal of a prosecuting attorney may also
be predicated on his or her conferral of posi-
tions in the office to friends or relatives regard-
less of their qualifications.
The removal process must comply with con-
stitutional or statutory requirements. In some
jurisdictions, the district attorney may be
removed by the court in proceedings com-
menced by the interested parties or by IMPEACH-
MENT. The legislature, within constitutional
limitations, may designate the nature of the
removal proceeding.
Statutes provide for the appointment of
assistant district attorneys to render supplemen-
tary services to the district attorney. Indepen-
dent of statute, however, the courts frequently
exercise discretionary power to appoint attor-
neys to assist the prosecuting attorney in crimi-
nal cases. Statutes primarily govern the qualifi-
cations, salary, tenure, powers, and removal of
such attorneys.
Special prosecutors are attorneys appointed
by the government to investigate criminal
offenses involving officials of the EXECUTIVE
BRANCH, since the government cannot effec-
tively investigate itself.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Criminal Procedure; Due Process of Law; Prosecutor; Selec-
