prosecutor
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prosecutor, government official charged with bringing defendants in criminal cases to justice in the name of the state. Although responsibilities vary from one jurisdiction to another, many prosecutors are in charge of all phases of a criminal proceeding, from investigation by the police through trial and beyond to all levels of appeal. Many also defend the state in civil actions. In the United Kingdom, prosecution is carried out in the name of the crown. In this sense the crown can be said to prosecute, and the prosecution is often referred to as “the crown.”
In some countries, such as France, public prosecution is carried out by a single office that has representatives in courts all over the country (see ministère public). In Japan, too, the office of public prosecutor runs parallel to a unitary court system. In the United States, however, states and counties have their own prosecutors. Only on the federal level is the system unitary, a district attorney being appointed by the U.S. attorney general’s office for each federal district (see attorney general).
In some countries, including France, Japan, and Germany, the prosecutors are part of a career civil service. They are appointed and dismissed by the ministry of justice and generally subject to its control. In Japan, however, they may be dismissed only for reasons of health or after disciplinary proceedings.
In most U.S. state and local jurisdictions, prosecutors are elected to office. On the federal level, district attorneys are, in effect, members of the executive branch of the government; they are usually replaced when a new administration comes into office. Prosecutors, whether elected or appointed, are often subject to political pressures. Efforts have been made in Japan and Germany to insulate the office from such pressures.
In some countries the prosecutor takes charge of the investigation once a crime has been committed. In both the United States and Russia the prosecutor is largely responsible for the police investigation, in which he must assure that the guaranteed rights of the accused are protected. In England, most prosecutions are undertaken by the police, on the basis of complaints made to them; the more serious crimes, such as murder, are prosecuted by a legal officer of the government. The English procedure does not centralize all prosecutions for crime in a public official or department and thus differs from the system employed in Scotland and continental European countries, as well as from the American system.
In the United States the prosecutor presents evidence at a hearing before a grand jury, which may or may not return an indictment for trial. In most civil-law countries, however, a special investigating magistrate is in charge of the preliminary hearing. In general, the prosecutor participates little in this stage of the process, sometimes offering his assessment of the case at the end of the proceeding. In Russia, however, a representative from the procurator’s office runs the preliminary hearing; the procurator-general oversees the investigation and can order it to continue if he feels more evidence can be found. At the same time he can overturn any investigation.
In countries where the judge handles the questioning of witnesses, the prosecutor is limited to presenting evidence and giving a final summation. In the United States and Great Britain the prosecutor plays an active role in questioning witnesses. In most countries, when a decision is appealed to a higher court, the prosecutor presents briefs and pleads the state’s case.
