Main Duties of a ‘Prosecuting Attorney‘ !
The ‘prosecutor’ has to play a very important role as an official of the court in the American criminal justice system. The main duties of Prosecutor are to organise and present evidence before the Court and determine whether a particular case should be prosecuted or compromised. The Prosecutor also proposes to the Judge or the jury, the appropriate penalty which may be awarded to the offender in a particular case.
The Prosecutor or the ‘Prosecuting Attorney’ has four main functions to perform, namely, (1) to investigate the crime; (2) to determine as to who shall be prosecuted; (3) to prepare cases for trial; and (4) to act as an advocate while the case is being tried. Thus, he plays a quadruple role of an investigator, magistrate, solicitor and the advocate at one and the same time.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The office of the Prosecutor being political in nature, no specific qualifications are prescribed for this position. Generally, such official must be old enough to vote, resident of the area of jurisdiction and a member of the bar. This position is usually sought as a stepping stone to higher political office.
The Prosecutor being an elective official, often has to oblige his supporters and friends who helped him in getting elected to this post. That apart, he cannot afford to overlook the interests of those politicians who are in power as they may be useful to secure him further chances for political advancement.
The political nature of this office does more harm than good to the community and therefore, it is difficult to agree that it is a forward step in the American judicial system. Prosecutor’s discretionary powers as to when to comprise a case or when to change the nature of the charge or when to secure a plea of guilty to a lesser offence than that committed, necessarily leaves much room for corruption and miscarriage of justice.
The personal attitude and likes and dislikes of the Prosecutor also influence the discretion of the prosecuting attorney to a considerable extent. The recent American trend, however, is to restrict the discretionary powers of the Prosecutor and to divest him of his civil duties so that he can concentrate on his judicial functions. Donald Taft suggests that extension of the power of the State Attorney-General over both police and prosecution is a possible solution to restrict the discretionary powers of the Prosecutor.