Role of the Prosecutor on the Criminal Justice System Essay Sample

The court system piece of the judicial system seems the most interesting part of the whole criminal justice system. It was surprising to learn just how much of an impact the district attorney has in determining the outcome of a case. The fact that they can choose not to prosecute certain laws is fascinating as it leaves room for different types of crimes to go unpunished. Prosecutors also can shape their communities as they can for example choose not to punish someone for making a mistake that would leave them with a criminal record. This part of their job is very important to help keep society safe while also showing the right amount of mercy to stop people from going down the wrong path. I think most people underestimate the importance of district attorneys as most people just vote for one on election day without realizing how much power they have. 

The prosecutor is required in every criminal case as they represent the government while trying to convict those that are guilty. Before the trial even begins they are tasked with persuading the judge into setting bail for the accused or requesting no bail at all. This is a final decision decided by a judge but the district attorney is the one who can decide on bail reform. The next step in a trial is the plea bargain phase in which prosecutors and the defense meet and the accused suspect is offered a deal in which they plea guilty for a lesser charge and shorter sentence. This is a major part of the district attorney's responsibility as it can rush cases through the justice system without taking up time trying to have a trial. These deals are usually only for misdemeanor charges that are not worth going to trial over but some low-level felonies can also result in a plea bargain. Plea barging is one of the only ways a district attorney can prevent the court from becoming overloaded and it also helps free up space in jail as it usually resolves misdemeanor charges without jail time needed. During this stage, the charge, count, and type of sentence must be disclosed to the defendant that way they can make an informed decision before pleading guilty. If the defendant decides to plead not guilty after the plea bargain then the discovery phase of the trial begins. During this stage, the prosecutor and defense share all information about the case from witnesses to lab results that will be used during the trial. This is big for both sides as it requires the district attorney to find evidence that proves the defendant guilty but it also gives the defendant's counsel the chance to find exculpatory evidence. After this, the case finally goes to trial where the district attorney is responsible for proving to the jury that the accused is guilty of the crime.

One of the more interesting things I learned about district attorneys is the amount of power they have over their districts. While they are responsible for proving in court the defendants' guilt they also play a major role in the punishments of criminals. In class, we watched a video of a prosector who instead of charging a kid for a theft he was able to help him turn his life around. Although this is anecdotal evidence I think this shows just how important it is to elect the right prosectors for our districts. They are one of the only people who can influence the outcomes of criminal cases and how long they are sentenced for. They also have the power to not prosecute crimes that they feel are unjust to the community they preside over. An example of this that we learned in class was the district attorney for Mecklenburg county no longer prosecutes marijuana possession cases. This allows prosecutors to have control over how the justice system works in their area. Before this class, I had no idea how impactful these people are to the community and whenever it came to election day I would just vote for the one in my party. Learning more about district attorneys made me realize that everyone should pay attention to the policies their local prosector is running on. I think most people do not understand how much of an impact they can have on our communities and on keeping us safe. Although they are very powerful in that they have immunity from being prosecuted while in their position. While some think this is good to make sure they can do their job fairly it also leaves the possibility of corruption. An example we spoke about in class was the former Durham County prosecutor Mike Nifong who mishandled a case against Duke students on the lacrosse team. While there are other examples of district attorneys being held accountable there are probably thousands more that engage in corruption that we do not know about. This is a constant problem in the criminal justice system as there is a balance between giving prosecutors the power to do their jobs fairly but not too much power to corrupt the very same system. Overall I think it was important to discuss in class as we did how good district attorneys can help our community while bad ones can also ruin it. 

Learning the ins and outs of what a district attorney does for our community was by far my favorite topic and I feel one of the most important things we discussed in class. It shows the intricacies of the criminal justice system especially when it comes to the court side of the equation.