Also known as: states attorney · state attorney · prosecutor
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A public official who represents the state in criminal prosecutions and related legal matters. The office carries authority to initiate charges supported by probable cause, to disclose exculpatory evidence, and to exercise peremptory challenges subject to constitutional limits.
Steven Silva is on trial for assault. His counsel introduces evidence that the alleged victim had a reputation for starting fights. The state's attorney then calls two coworkers who testify that the victim was known for being peaceful and non-confrontational. The court admits the testimony to rebut the first-aggressor claim.
During jury selection in a robbery prosecution, the state's attorney uses peremptory challenges to remove all three African-American venire members. Defense counsel makes a prima facie showing of racial motivation. The state's attorney must then articulate race-neutral reasons for each strike, which the trial court evaluates for pretext.
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After reviewing the file, the state's attorney learns that the only witness has recanted and no other evidence supports the theft allegation against Skylar Sullivan. The state's attorney therefore declines to file the information, consistent with the duty not to prosecute charges lacking probable cause.
Solomon Silver is charged with murder and claims self-defense, offering evidence that the victim was the first aggressor. The state's attorney responds by introducing testimony that the victim had a reputation for peacefulness. The court admits the evidence to rebut the first-aggressor claim.
A judicial council appoints Sydney Santos as special prosecutor to investigate alleged misconduct by one state employee. Because the duties are narrowly limited to that single subject and person, the appointment is upheld as vesting authority in an inferior officer.
While preparing for sentencing, the state's attorney learns of a witness statement that undercuts the defendant's role in the offense. The state's attorney promptly discloses the statement to defense counsel and the court so that it may be considered at sentencing.
A state's attorney must refrain from prosecuting any charge the attorney knows lacks probable cause. This obligation prevents the filing of unsupported accusations and protects defendants from baseless proceedings.
In a homicide prosecution, once the defense offers evidence that the victim was the first aggressor, the state's attorney may offer evidence of the victim's trait of peacefulness to rebut that claim.
If the defendant makes a prima facie showing that peremptory strikes were exercised on racial grounds, the state's attorney must articulate a race-neutral explanation. The trial court then determines whether purposeful discrimination has been proven.
The state's attorney must make timely disclosure to the defense of all known evidence or information that tends to negate guilt or mitigate the offense, including unprivileged mitigating information at sentencing.
When the position is an inferior officer with duties limited to investigating a narrow range of persons and subjects, Congress may vest the appointment in the judiciary.
…inequity wherever it surfaces. It is not for us to rewrite the ordinance, or substitute our judgment for the discretion of the prosecutor who elected to initiate this litigation.[^maj-10] In this connection the variance provisions of East Cleveland's Building Code assume special significance, for they show that the city…