State's Attorney

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In the United States, the State's Attorney (also called State Attorney, District Attorney, Commonwealth's Attorney, County Attorney, County Prosecutor, Prosecuting Attorney (Prosecutor) or Solicitor (South Carolina only)) is an appointed or elected official who is often the chief law enforcement officer of his or her respective county circuit or district. His or her principal duties are usually mandated by law and include signing information (which are documents charging people with criminal offenses), convening the grand jury (which produces documents called indictments that charge people with criminal offenses), and then prosecuting those "indicted" or "informed" people for the offenses they have been alleged to have committed in the name of the city, county or state in a court of law. State's Attorneys have jurisdiction to prosecute criminal offenses (violations of state law or county or city ordinances) which occur within a geographical area. That geographical area can be delineated by the county's boundary, court circuits or districts. This area will usually be the entire jurisdiction of a state court or part of that jurisdiction. In fact, in Connecticut prosecutors are assigned by judicial district and geographical area designations (the state's judicial system being divided up in the same way.) It will usually not be more than one jurisdiction, however. Concurrently, the State's Attorney may act as chief counsel for city police, county police, state police and all state law enforcement agencies within the State's Attorney's jurisdiction.

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[edit] Departments

The State's Attorney usually divides his or her services into several departments that handle different spheres of law. Each department is staffed by several duly appointed and sworn Assistant State's Attorneys (also known as Deputy State's Attorneys in some states). The departments of a large State's 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, appeals, career criminal prosecution, homicide, investigations, organized crime/gang, and administration.

Assistant State's Attorneys seek office through an appointment by the elected State's Attorney. Assistants dedicate their time to trial work and handle tens of cases at the same time. Assistants earn a much lower salary compared to their political superior who is an elected official. Assistant State's Attorneys become experieced trial attorneys often spending a vast majority of their time preparing for court by representing the state in which they are employed. Upon leaving the post of Assistant State's Attorney, the next possible career step is to fill the vacancy of a judgeship or run as a candidate in a county judicial election. If filling a position on the bench is not obtainable, many former assistants join private firms or become solo practitioners specializing in criminal law and possibly practicing some civil litigation such as personal injury and worker's compensation. Many Assistant State's Attorneys become career prosecutors for the state or may join the United States Attorney Office in their home district.

[edit] 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 State's Attorneys, in many cases, hands all relative prosecutorial materials to an State Appellate Prosecutor who in turn will represent the state in appellate courts with the advice and consent of the State's Attorney. The State's Attorney in small counties is responsible for grand jury indictments, motions, proceedings, and trying cases by jury or bench until verdict. In larger counties, the State's Attorney acts as an administrator and delegates most of the trial work to Assistant State's Attorney or Assistant District Attorneys.

The State's Attorney Office is funded by the State Government and is a sub-part to the Office of the Governor, which is part of the Executive Branch.

[edit] States that have State's Attorneys or State Attorneys

[edit] External links

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