At the federal level, prosecutors are known as U.S. attorneys. There is a U.S. attorney for each federal court district in the United States. The president appoints U.S. attorneys, who mainly serve as administrators.
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the American judicial system, and has the power to decide appeals on all cases brought in federal court or those brought in state court but dealing with federal law.
Usually, the agency will have all three kinds of power: executive, legislative, and judicial. (That is, the agency can set the rules that business must comply with, can investigate and prosecute those businesses, and can hold administrative hearings for violations of those rules.
Federal crimes are offenses that specifically violate U.S. federal laws. Federal offenses are prosecuted by government agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and can oftentimes carry penalties that are far more severe than those levied by state courts.
The U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) is the chief prosecutor for the United States in criminal law cases, and represents the United States in civil law cases as either the defendant or plaintiff, as appropriate. However, they are not the only ones that may represent the United States in Court.
More specifically, federal courts hear criminal, civil, and bankruptcy cases.
U.S. federal agencies have the power to adjudicate, legislate, and enforce laws within their specific areas of delegated power.
In many instances, state courts can hear matters of federal law, and federal courts can hear matters of state law, provided, in both instances, that certain conditions are met. State courts often limit their jurisdiction based on the amount in question or the types of claims brought.
Most federal criminal offenses carry more severe penalties than the corresponding offenses under state law. Federal indictments often carry harsher penalties because national interests may be at stake.
Theft, weapons charges, armed robbery, possession of a controlled substance, internet crimes, and white-collar crimes are some of the most common federal criminal charges that our clients face.
“Federal crimes” refer specifically to offenses that violate U.S. federal laws. They are investigated by federal law enforcement and prosecuted by United States attorneys in federal courts with federal judges.
For the most part, federal court jurisdictions only hear cases in which the United States is a party, cases involving violations of the Constitution or federal law, crimes on federal land, and bankruptcy cases. Federal courts also hear cases based on state law that involve parties from different states.
This is similar to the situation of the man who judges his own case. When a person makes a complaint about wrongdoing by Federal agencies to the US Attorney’s Offices, the attorney listening to the complaint has a conflict of interest in even hearing it. In part because of this situation, federal agencies have the freedom to be lawless.
Because Executive branch employees understand they are not answerable for their acts before the Court or Congress, the rights of the individual, which the three branches were created to protect, are obliterated. Under the Constitution the rights of the people were to be protected within the Constitutional framework.
Unlike civil cases, criminal cases are not pursued by an individual. Rather, it is prosecuted by an attorney who works for the government. In state cases, the prosecutor is generally a District Attorney. In federal cases, a U.S. Attorney will try the case.
The reason a government attorney, instead of the victim, handles the case is because crimes are committed against state or federal laws. The government is charged with prosecuting violations.
In such instances, the prosecutor may have a bit more difficulty proving guilt because they might have lost a key witness for their side. If they do not have other compelling evidence that links the defendant to the crime, they may decide to drop the case.
The burden of proof rests on the prosecutor to demonstrate that the defendant is guilty of all elements of the alleged crime. This requires them to bring forth evidence that supports their claims.