Chapter 6: Prosecutors © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Learning Objectives Discuss the two major characteristics of prosecutors in the United States Describe the three most important entities in federal prosecution Identify the three somewhat overlapping agencies involved in prosecution in state courts Explain the major factors affecting the work life of assistant district attorneys Analyze the principal factors affecting prosecutorial ethics Outline two major examples of the expanding domain of the prosecutor © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Origin of the Public Prosecutor Government employees in civil service Evolved from private prosecutions at English common law Private citizens facilitated private vengeance Concerns regarding due process about private prosecutions led to public prosecutor model Quasi-Public prosecutions Prosecution out-sourcing model Part-time prosecutor model © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Role of the Prosecutor Major Characteristics: Broad Discretion Part of the executive branch of government Officer of the court Immune from civil lawsuits when acting as courtroom advocates Charging decisions Have total discretion Focus Concerns Theory Decentralized © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Connick v. Thompson 14 years on death row Prosecutor withheld evidence that might have led to Thompson’s acquittal Question raised regarding DA’s office paying for egregious prosecutorial misconduct Federal jury held Connick liable Supreme court overturned the jury’s decision, arguing one cannot sue for civil rights violations under Section 1983 for failure to train prosecutors based on a single Brady violation Prosecutors are immune from civil law when they are performing their role, but only enjoy immunity outside the judicial arena (faulty advice to police) © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Overview of prosecutors in the dual court system © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Prosecution in Federal Court U.S. Attorney General Three most important entities: Solicitor General: 3rd ranking officer in DOJ Criminal Division of the Justice Department: Formulates criminal law enforcement policies in federal cases U.S. Attorneys: Principle litigator under the direction of the attorney general © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Prosecutions in Federal Court U.S. Attorneys: Appointed and serve at the discretion of the President with the consent of the Senate Three statutory responsibilities: Prosecution of criminal cases brought by the federal government Initiation and defense of civil cases in which the United States is a party Collection of certain debts owed the federal government © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Thinking Point Research the current U.S. Solicitor General http://www.justice.gov/osg/index.html What does the website discuss regarding the Solicitor General? What is his job function? What is the mission of the organization as a whole? How does someone qualify for this position? © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Prosecution in State Courts Three overlapping entities: State Attorney General Chief Prosecutor Local Prosecutor © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Thinking Point Locate your state attorney general, chief prosecutor and local prosecutor. Who are they? What are their overall job functions? What qualifies them for the position they currently hold? Are they effective in their job positions? Why or why not? © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

The Prosecutors Office at Work Assistant District Attorneys High turnover Training typically on-the-job Law school provides little exposure to day-to-day operations of the position “Young prosecutors syndrome” Promotions and Office Structure Experience leads to promotions Supervision Supervised by a section head Attempts at Greater Supervision © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Prosecutorial Ethics Representatives of both victims and the police Prosecutorial immunity: Absolute immunity: Within the realm of prosecutorial functions Qualified immunity: When not acting as advocate for government © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Prosecutorial Ethics Ethical issues different from those facing defense attorneys Client of the prosecutor is the government Ethical issues facing prosecutors Disclosure of evidence Conflict of interest Discretion How much information to release to the public © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Key Developments Concerning the Prosecutor © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Thinking Point Review the Casey Anthony case again What issues did you see with regards to the prosecution? What could they have done differently? How prepared/trained were they for this high profile case? Was it the prosecution that lost the case? © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Prosecutors and Courtroom Work Groups Conflicting goals and contrasting work groups Political styles and contrasting work groups Socialization process varies © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

The Expanding Domain of the Prosecutor Improving Police/Prosecutor relationships: Promote adequate police reports and contact between the two parties Community prosecution: Crime prevention is the goal © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Case Close-Up Burns v. Reed and Prosecutorial Misconduct Should prosecutors be immune from civil lawsuits? What did the Supreme Court say? © 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.