According to the definitions of many states within the United States, a District Attorney is an appointed or elected member of the government who is charged with the responsibility of representing the overall government in the prosecution of various criminal offenses occurred. From personal knowledge, I do know that the District Attorney is the one of the highest officeholder the given areas’ legal department. Therefore, the District Attorney is the overall supervisor of the staff of assistant. Further, I do know that the DA is can appoint an assistance to work at his will. Sometimes, the resultant DA is one that has previously served as a deputy (Contrada, Joan and Richard Neal 292) Therefore, it is obvious that the DA is the above his deputy in terms of rank as well as expected obligations. From another perspective, the DA is the bigger individual who is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the concerned office is doing what it is required to, which is to ensure that criminal offenses within their jurisdiction are effectively and successfully prosecuted. Further, the grand jury depends and relies heavily on the local DA (Melton 107)
Past learning has enabled me to understand the office of the District Attorney in a bigger and a better way. For instance, I do know that the functions carried out by the District Attorney in the higher levels, are in turn carried out by other related officers in the legal department at lower levels. At the local level in some geographical and political jurisdiction, various functions carried out by the District Attorney are carried out by various officers referred to as the Commonwealth’s Attorney, County Attorney or State’s Attorney. The names and offices held in relation to the subject are dependent on the system that has been adopted in various places in the particular county or state.
The post and rank of the District Attorney is vital and relevant in the determination of whether justice is served or not in the particular region. Therefore, the appointment of the District Attorney is a crucial matter. The obligations charged to the appointed personnel are not only numerous but also sensitive. It is from this reason that I presume the electing of such a person is given priority. I have experienced and witnessed the appointing of various District Attorneys in the past. I have also seen and read of numerous recent trends in relation to the appointment of various District Attorneys. The District Attorney may be appointed by the chief executive of a given region. The person referred to here is mostly the governor of the given state. Therefore, a governor appoints the DA who is charged with the responsibility of ensuring criminal prosecutions within the given state. However, the District Attorney could also be elected by the people or citizens of the given state. Therefore, democracy of the people and the state in general is practiced in this case. As a result, the most favored candidate in terms of past records and current abilities, with personal integrity highly prioritized, is given the chance to serve as the District Attorney.
Section B
Q 1.Who is the equivalent of the District Attorney in other major first world countries in the world?
The titles of various officers though equal in ranks, occupation and duties will often vary when different countries or regions are in involved. These names depend on the past history and other legislative occurrences and conclusions in the given country, together with the constitutionality of the countries in question. There are various posts that can be said to be equivalent to that of the District Attorney in the United Kingdom. These positions include the Chief Crown Prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service in Wales and England, and the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland (Kyprianou 19) The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for most public prosecution in England and Wales (Graham and Crighton 24). This is the same obligation that is charged to the American District Attorney. The reason I want to know about the equivalent of a District Attorney in the United Kingdom is to better understand and wholly integrate the systems of another similar country to the United States, in terms of economic stand.
Q2. What are the knowledge and skill requirements for a District Attorney?
An effective District Attorney will often have the comprehension and grasp of various criminal codes and laws to be able to effectively and knowledgeably argue in a court of law. The office of the prosecutor can be described as meeting the highest standards of professional skill and personal integrity (Siegel 534). The DA also needs to be aware of the numerous functions that are associated to the concerned job. The need to investigate diversion agreements and related evidences is vital for the District Attorney. The District Attorney also needs to possess excellent communication skills. The purpose of knowing this part of the district attorneys office is to understand better the attributes and virtues of a good DA and compare them with mine, so I that I can tell whether I am eligible to hold this position in future.
Q3. What are the educational requirements and training for a District Attorney Job?
The most basic requirement required in the holding the office of the District Attorney is that one must be a law graduate. Suitable candidates must have practiced attorney at law for some years. The fact that dedication of one is required in regard to their respective undertakings in the office is evident. Further, it is a requirement that one be a resident of the district in which they intend to become district attorneys. Getting to understand these requirements is beneficial to me personally in terms of the fact that I tend to know more about the DA’s office. Further, answering this question helps me relate and compare my levels of education with that of the DA.
Q4. What are the working conditions of the DA.?
District Attorneys often have their offices comprised of various numerous colleagues. These individuals serve at the will of the District Attorney. It is these individuals that stay in DA’s office and handle most of the investigation part of the work involved, including, processing various legal paperwork (Siegel 390).District Attorneys also visit precincts to do the required interviews with the accused individuals. The purpose of getting the answer to this question is that it helps me individually to understand the office of the DA in a better way. Knowing the composition of the DA’s work is vital to me personally in relation to my career life and school course.
Q5. What is the approximate salary of the DA?
The salary paid to various District Attorneys depends mainly on the number of years they have been in service. Further, this case depends on the current trends and the years. For instance, in 1989, the DA was getting a salary of $ 15,000 (Steinberg 228).This is the case in numerous disciplines. For the DA’s who have served up to 4 years in the job end up receiving about $ 60,000 annually. Further, those who have worked in the position for more than 20 years double this salary to up to $ 120,000. The reason I want to know the answer to the question of the salary is the fact that I want to gauge the fairness and determine whether it is worth it serving as a DA. After knowing the obligation charged to the DA together with the various undertakings and the importance accorded to this post, matching this information with the salary, which is a major motivator for performance, is vital. Conclusively, I would say that the salary offered is worth the duty and service of the various DAs in the United States.
Works Cited
Kyprianou, Despina. The Role of the Cyprus Attorney general’s Office in Prosecutions:
Rhetoric, Ideology and Practice: New York: Springer, 2009. Print.
Neal, Richard and Joan Axelrod-Contrada. Career Opportunities in Politics, Government, and
Activism. New York. Facts on File Inc, 2008. Print.
Melton, Buckner. Criminal Justice. New York. Chelsea House, 2010. Print
Siegel, Larry. Criminology. New York. Wadsworth Publishers, 2011. Print.
Siegel, Larry. Introduction to Criminal Justice. New York. Wadsworth Publishers, 2007. Print.
Steinberg, Allen. The Transformation of Criminal Justice. The University of Northern Carolina,
1989. Print.
Towl, Graham and David Crighton. Forensic Psychology. London: Willey-Blackwell, 2010.
Print.
