Can someone please explain what the difference is between a District Attorney and a prosecutor? Is it the same thing? Does each county have their own district attorney that prosecutes several cases? Or are the different areas of crimes disignated to different prosectors? Are their prosecutors that specifically procsecute rape and sexual assualt? I was recently sexually assualted so now my life dream is to help victims and fight injustices! I was already planning on going to law school but I changed my dream from criminal defense to prosecutor. Do you have to be elected to be a prosecutor? Can someone please explain this whole prosecutor thing? Thank you!!! You will be helping me achieve my dream!!
2007-12-22 20:51:47 · 4 answers · asked by Queen Ashlie 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Research the topic on the net, if you want to be a lawyer you will have to research many things so take the initiative and start now
2007-12-22 21:09:24 · answer #1 · answered by LONDONER © 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You have to go to law school. You have to graduate sufficiently high enough in your class to be interviewed by the county prosecutor's office. You have to be content to make about half of what your classmates who go to big law firms make. You have to demonstrate the ability to learn on the job. You have to be tough enough to deal with the scum of the earth on a daily basis. In most states, the district attorney is elected and represents the state in the prosecution of criminals. The district attorney has a staff of lawyers to assist in the investigation, arraignment and prosecution of criminals. The district attorney himself or herself rarely appears in court. In some counties, like the county of New York, the district attorney's office may have nearly 1,000 attorneys. In a rural county in Wyoming, there may only be a handful. The job is essentially the same, in most cases the district attorney's office is all too happy to let the accused plead guilty to a lesser offense or to get a lower sentence than he otherwise would get in exchange for his guilty plea and maybe for cooperation. When you are in law school, attend the local criminal courts, not just a trial, which will be very interesting, and make sure you stay through the verdict, but attend an arraignment session, to get a sense of what you will be doing. For what it's worth, most county judges were assistant district attorneys. Good luck.
2007-12-22 21:13:53 · answer #2 · answered by mattapan26 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
District Attorney is the head of the department. He may prosecute very important cases himself. Most cases will be prosecuted by an assistant district attorney.
All prosecutors MUST go to law school. In some states they are appointed, but in some (like California) they are elected. But they must be qualified attorneys in either case.
2007-12-22 21:54:33 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
After you graduate from law school and pass the state bar exam, apply at your local DA's office.
2007-12-23 00:13:33 · answer #4 · answered by WC 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋