A district attorney is also referred to as a public prosecutor, state's attorney, or prosecuting attorney. The analogous position in the federal system is a United States Attorney.
District attorneys, sometimes called county attorneys, state attorneys, or prosecutors, are responsible for representing the government against criminal offenders in court. In many places, a district attorney must be elected into the position. At the federal level, a district attorney is called a U.S. Attorney.
The District Attorney (DA) is a constitutionally elected county official. The District Attorney is responsible for the prosecution of criminal violations of state law and county ordinances occurring within a county under California Government Code Section 26500.
In practice, district attorneys, who prosecute the bulk of criminal cases in the United States, answer to no one. The state attorney general is the highest law enforcement officer in state government and often has the power to review complaints about unethical and illegal conduct on the part of district attorneys.
The primary function of the District Attorney is to prosecute criminal offences in a designated state or district on behalf of the government. In order to prosecute the criminals, the District attorneys work in cooperation with law enforcement officials (police) who had investigated the crime.
District attorneys have the power to choose which charges are filed against an individual accused of a crime. When the police arrest someone, the district attorney's office has the power to prosecute those cases, divert the accused to a program or drug treatment, or dismiss the case altogether.
District attorneyDistrict attorney, (United States) chief prosecutor for a local government area, particularly a county.
District attorneys are either elected by the local constituents they represent or appointed by the chief executive of the jurisdiction. Except for the District of Columbia and three states—Connecticut, New Jersey, and Alaska—other 47 states across the country elect their District Attorneys.