Powers of Prosecutors in the United States
Naomy Rodriguez
Department of English, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
ENG 201: Composition 2: Disciplinary Investigations
Exploring Writing across the Disciplines
Professor Nargiza Matyakubova
February 27, 2022
Powers of Prosecutors in the United States
Prosecutors
play an important role in our legal system. Prosecutors are a public, elected
government official who charges someone of committing a crime (Oxford Dictionaries,
n.d.). Prosecutors have a variety of duties that may change or vary across
jurisdictional limits. All components of a criminal case may be included in
these responsibilities. That is, “…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” (Britannica, 2019).
In
other countries, such as France, public prosecution is handled by a single
office with members in all of the country's courts. A unitary court system
coexists with a public prosecutor's office in Japan as well. In the United
States however, states and counties, have their own attorneys. Only at the
federal level is the structure uniform, with the US attorney general's office
appointing a district attorney to each federal district (Britannica, 2019).
In
various countries, prosecutors' jobs and even how they are elected differ.
Prosecutors in the United States have a wide range of authority. Charges, plea
bargaining, and investigation authority are among them. They might even be able
to influence bail. Despite their vast powers, they are bound by federal laws
and must follow a set of guidelines. But, before studying these powers, it's
necessary to look at how they're elected.
Most
state and municipal governments in the United States elect prosecutors. On a
state level, they are part of the executive branch of government and are
usually replaced when a new administration takes power, which has an impact on
prosecutor elections. As a result, prosecutors may be exposed to political
pressure. This was not always the case, even though they are elected.
Election of
Prosecutors
Prosecutors in the United States are elected as opposed to
those in other countries. Prosecutors, however, were not always elected
officials. The idea of making prosecutors political politicians did not take
hold until the 1820s and 1830s. Governors would choose prosecutors to
"...reward their allies and punish their enemies" during the time
(Ellis, 2012). This method was causing a growing percentage of voters to be
dissatisfied. In general, these appointments were uncontrolled and skewed.
Prosecutors began to have a bigger role in the criminal court system at this
time. They had also obtained discretionary powers over prosecutions at the same
time. As a result, voters began to lose faith in the appointment process and
turned to elections.
Powers of
Prosecutors
Charging
Power
The prosecutor's charging authority
is the most essential of the prosecutor's many responsibilities and
obligations. It is frequently the foundation of a prosecutor's power or
influence over the entire legal system. Prosecutors decide not only whether or
not to charge someone with a crime, but also what charge should be filed. If a
police officer has reasonable grounds to believe that someone has committed a
crime, he or she cannot decide whether or not the person will be charged
formally. The prosecutor is in charge of making the decision, and he or she has
nearly complete discretion. The charging decision is significant because it
determines whether an individual might face criminal charges and, as a result,
lose their freedom. Even in areas where grand juries investigate and bring
charges through the indictment process, prosecutors have a lot of power at
this point (Davis, 2010).
An example provided by Davis is when
an individual is arrested because of cocaine possession. She claims that the
prosecutor has a variety of choices in this case. Even if there is enough
evidence to create a case against the person detained or even prosecute, the
prosecutor may drop the case. Even a judge will not be able to overturn this
decision. Few people are aware of pre-charge dismissals, according to Davis,
because they are normally done in the seclusion of the prosecutor's office.
Because there is never a formal charge before these dismissals, there is no
need to argue before the judge or engage a defense attorney (2010).
However, if the prosecutor
decides to file formal charges against the defendant, have a lot of flexibility
in determining what charges to file. Most of this is determined by the facts of
the case. A prosecutor's arsenal of prospective charges can "...include
possession of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and
distribution of cocaine if a person is arrested in possession of a quantity of
cocaine" (Davis, 2010). The significance of this decision cannot be
underestimated. Possessing cocaine is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year
in prison in most states, while possessing cocaine with the purpose to sell it
and distributing cocaine are felonies carrying a mandatory minimum penalty of
incarceration. Depending on the statute of the state in which the offender is
tried, the statutory prison sentence could range from five to ten years, or
perhaps more. If the person has past offenses, the required sentence can be
enhanced. Furthermore, drug prohibitions enacted by the federal government
carry far harsher punishments.
In order to be prosecuted with
possession or possession with intent to distribute, most drug laws in the
United States do not need the offender to have a specified quantity of the
narcotic. Even if the quantity is large enough for a judge or jury to infer
that the defendant possessed the material for the purpose of sale, the
prosecutor may choose to charge the defendant with mere possession of cocaine.
A prosecutor, on the other hand, could charge the defendant with possession
with intent to distribute even if the amount appears to be negligible. That is,
if he or she feels there is proof or reasonable grounds to assume the defendant
intended to sell the quantity it had (Davis, 2010). As a result, prosecutors' ability to
prosecute is critical. This is because the charge leveled against the defendant
may determine his or her legal status.
Plea
Bargains
In the United States, most criminal
prosecutions end in plea agreements rather than a jury trial. Plea bargains are
agreements between defendants and prosecutors in which defendants agree to
plead guilty to part or all of the accusations against them in exchange for
concessions from the prosecution (Cornell Law School n.d.). To put it
differently, plea bargains are agreements reached between prosecutors and
defendants to avoid a trial. As a result of these deals, prosecutors have more
time and energy to devote to other cases, while judges have fewer trials to
monitor (Cornell Law School, n.d.). Furthermore, they allow prosecutors to
avoid costly, labor-intensive, time-consuming trials that do not always ensure
success.
Plea bargaining is also the primary
means through which judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys collaborate and
work toward their individual and collective goals. The main benefit of plea
bargaining for both the prosecutor and the defense is that there is no risk of
a complete loss at trial: neither the defense nor the prosecution
"loses," and they both receive what they want. Bargains can be a
realistic strategy for lawyers to reduce their potential damages by agreeing on
some items, especially when the evidence for or against a defendant is ambiguous
(Meyer, 2009).
Plea bargains benefit prosecutors in
general because they increase the likelihood of a conviction and thus improve
their conviction rates. Plea bargains are frequently used to entice defendants
to testify against others, according to Meyers (2009). As part of a plea deal,
prosecutors usually try to reduce a defendant's term or punishment. This is
accomplished by either lowering the severity of the charges or lowering the
number of charges brought against the defendant. Some plea bargains demand defendants
to do more than just plead guilty. Prosecutors, for example, frequently offer
defendants favorable plea deals if they agree to testify for the prosecution in
subsequent cases (Cornell Law School, n.d.). "The overwhelming majority
(90 to 95 percent) of cases result in plea bargaining" due to the nature
of plea bargains (Devers, 2011).
Bail
Despite the fact that it is not their duty, prosecutors have
the ability to influence the amount of bail set. Bail is money that defendants
must post in order to be released from custody pending their trial, according
to the American Bar Association. Bail is not a fine or a sentence. Its intent
is “… to ensure that defendants will appear for trial and all pretrial hearings
for which they must be present” (2019). Bail guarantees that defendants will
appear in court for future sessions. Prosecutors, according to the Vera
Institute of Justice, are crucial in the bail process. This is because one of
the most important variables in determining this is their advice (n.d.).
Investigative
Powers
If prosecutors believe, if for some
reason, that a legal infringement has happened, they may have the authority and
responsibility to investigate on their own, even in the absence of information
from the police or other parties. According to the American Bar Association, a
prosecutor should analyze search warrant petitions before submitting them to a
judge when working on a case. The prosecutor should encourage police and law
enforcement officers to submit search warrants to the prosecutor for review and
approval before presenting them to a court officer in all such circumstances
(n.d.). Prosecutors are bound by rules and
regulations as a result of their investigative abilities.
Conclusion
Prosecutors have an important role
in criminal proceedings. They are elected public authorities who charge someone
of committing a crime. It is their responsibility to uphold and follow the law.
Prosecutors have a wide range of authorities, including the ability to charge someone
with a crime, negotiate a plea, conduct investigations, and occasionally
influence bail.
Prosecutors decide not only whether
or not to charge someone with a crime, but also what charge should be filed.
Additionally, they avoid trials by forming deals with the defendants through
plea bargains. In exchange for pleading guilty, they frequently agree to drop
or lower the severity of charges. These powers come with many rules. To protect
the integrity of prosecutors and defendants, the American Bar Association
created Rules of Professional Conduct.
References
Britannica. (2019, October 16). Prosecutor.
Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/prosecutor.
Cornell Law School. (n.d.). Plea
bargain. Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/plea_bargain.
Davis, A. J. (2010, February 1). The
Power and Discretion of the American Prosecutor. Droit et cultures. Revue
internationale interdisciplinaire. https://journals.openedition.org/droitcultures/1580?lang=en.
Devers, L. (2011, January 14). Plea
and Charge Bargaining Research Summary . Bureau of Justice Assistance. https://bja.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh186/files/media/document/PleaBargainingResearchSummary.pdf.
Ellis, M. J. (2012). The Origins of
Elected Prosecutor. The Yale Law Journal. https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5513&context=ylj.
How Courts Work. American Bar
Association. (2019, September 9). https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/bail/.
Meyer, J. F. (2009, April 15). Plea
bargaining: Additional Information. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/plea-bargaining/additional-info#history.
Oxford Dictionaries. (n.d.). prosecutor.
prosecutor noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford
Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/prosecutor.
Where Should You Start? Vera
Institute of Justice. (n.d.). https://www.vera.org/unlocking-the-black-box-of-prosecution/for-prosecutors.
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