Prosecutor
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The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial against an individual accused of breaking the law.
Common law jurisdictions: Prosecutors are typically lawyers who possess a law degree, and are recognized as legal professionals by the court in which they intend to represent the state (the society) (that is, they have been admitted to the bar). They usually only become involved in a criminal case once a suspect has been identified and charges need to be filed. They are typically employed by an office of the government, with safeguards in place to ensure such an office can successfully pursue the prosecution of government officials. Often, multiple offices exist in a single country, especially those countries with federal governments where sovereignty has been bifurcated or devolved in some way. Since prosecutors are backed by the power of the state, they are usually subject to special professional responsibility rules in addition to those binding all lawyers. For example, in the United States, Rule 3.8 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct requires prosecutors to "make timely disclosure to the defense of all evidence or information ... that tends to negate the guilt of the accused or mitigates the offense." Not all U.S. states adopt the model rules, however U.S. Supreme Court cases and other appellate cases have ruled that such disclosure is required. Typical sources of ethical requirements imposed on prosecutors come from appellate court opinions, state or federal court rules, and state or federal statutes (codified laws). To find an attorney please check the largest attorney directory online or to find an child support attorney please check the largest child support attorney directory online or to find an traffic attorney please check the largest traffic attorney directory online or to find an attorney for disability please check the largest attorney for disability directory online.
Directors of Public Prosecutions: In Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, Ireland and South Africa, the head of the prosecuting authority is typically known as the Director of Public Prosecutions, and is appointed, not elected. A DPP may be subject to varying degrees of control by the Attorney General, usually by a formal written directive which must be published. In Australia, at least in the case of very serious matters, the DPP will be asked by the police, during the course of the investigation, to advise them on sufficiency of evidence, and may well be asked, if he or she thinks it proper, to prepare an application to the relevant court for search, listening device or telecommunications interception warrants. More recent constitutions, such as South Africa's or Fiji's, tend to guarantee the independence and impartiality of the DPP.
United States: In the United States, the director of any such offices may be known by any of several names depending on the legal jurisdiction.
The titles of prosecutors in state courts vary from state to state and include the terms City Attorney (in Missouri cities that have city prosecutors and all Washington state cities), Commonwealth's Attorney (in Kentucky and Virginia), County Attorney, County Prosecutor (in New Jersey), District Attorney (in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas), District Attorney General (in Tennessee), Prosecuting Attorney (in Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Washington counties, and West Virginia, and in Missouri except cities that have "City Attorney" prosecutors), State Attorney, State's Attorney, State Prosecutor, and Attorney General (in Delaware and Rhode Island). Prosecutors are most often chosen through local elections. United States Attorneys represent the federal government in federal court, in both civil and criminal cases. "Private attorneys general" represent the People of the United States of America in federal court, in both civil and criminal cases.
Scotland: Though Scots law is a mixed system, its civil law jurisdiction indicates its civil law heritage. Here, all prosecutions are carried out by Procurators Fiscal and Advocates Depute on behalf of the Lord Advocate, and, in theory, they can direct investigations by the police. In very serious cases, a Procurator Fiscal, Advocate Depute or even the Lord Advocate, may take charge of a police investigation. It's at the discretion of the Procurator Fiscal, Advocate Depute or Lord Advocate to take a prosecution to court, and to decide on whether or not to prosecute it under solemn procedure or summary procedure. Other remedies are open to a prosecutor in Scotland, including fiscal fines and non-court based interventions, such as rehabilitation and social work. All prosecutions are handled within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Procurators fiscal will usually refer cases involving minors to Children's Hearings, which are not courts of law, but a panel of lay members empowered to act in the interests of the child.
Civil law jurisdictions
Prosecutors are typically civil servants who possess a university degree in law, and additional training in the administration of justice. In some countries, such as France and Italy, they belong to the same corps of civil servants as the judges.
Brazil: In Brazil, the public prosecutors form a body of autonomous magistrates - the Ministério Público (literally Public Ministry) - working both at the federal and state level. The procuradores da República - federal prosecutors - are divided in three ranks, according to the jurisdiction of the courts before which they officiate, thus the "procuradores da República" (federal prosecutors) officiate before single judges and lower courts, "procuradores regionais da República" (prosecutors who officiate before federal appellate courts), and "subprocuradores gerais da República" (prosecutors who officiate before the superior federal courts). The Procurador Geral da República heads the federal body, and tries cases before the Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), Brazil's highest court, in charge of judicial review and the judgment of criminal offenses perpetrated by federal legislators, members of the cabinet, and the President of Brazil. At the state level, the career is usually divided in "promotores de Justiça" (state prosecutors), which officiate before the lower courts, and "procuradores de Justiça" (prosecutors officiating before the states' court of appeals). There are also military prosecutors whose career, although linked to the federal prosecutors, is divided in a manner similar to state prosecutors.
