Deputy District Attorney

Deputy District Attorneys are attorneys employed by the District Attorney's Office to support the District Attorney in prosecuting those who violate the law.

Jurisdiction

States are divided into Counties, and each County has a District Attorney and a District Attorney's Office (commonly known as the "DA" and the "DA's Office," respectively). The District Attorney has primary responsibility for the prosecution of all crimes, felonies and misdemeanors, throughout the county, however, incorporated cities within the county often have a City Attorney whose office will prosecute misdemeanors (minor crimes).

Duties

DA's Offices are typically organized in a hierarchical manner, less experienced deputy district attorneys (DDAs) are assigned routine misdemeanor and felony crimes. More experienced DDAs will be given more serious cases. In larger offices, DDAs who have considerable trial experience will often be assigned to special divisions handling particular types of cases, such as gang related crimes, financial crimes, narcotics, and sex crimes. Other, less conventional assignments include community related projects such as in Lancaster, CA where David Berger Deputy District Attorney was assigned to handle the creation of an entire anti-crime task force which became known as LAN-CAP.

For the most part DDAs duties start after a crime has occurred, a suspect has been identified, and arrest has been made. The DDA will receive a file with crime reports, results of forensic investigations, and witness statements. It is then the duty of the DDA to review the file and present the case in court.

Office Size

The size of the District Attorney's Office can vary enormously, depending upon the size and/or population of a particular county. In the State of California, for example, there are [http://www.csac.counties.org/ 58 counties] , each county has a DA and a DA's Office. At one end of the scale is [http://www.lacountyda.org The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office] . It is the largest DA's Office in the nation, employing over 1,000 Deputy District Attorneys, a Bureau of Investigation with District Attorney Investigators that is larger than many police forces, and a support staff that makes it amongst one of the largest law firms in the United States . At the other end of the scale, [http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20050218/News/102180039/-1/NEWS The Alpine County District Attorney's Office] is a one-man band.

Media

In recent years the popular NBC TV series " [http://www.nbc.com/Law_&_Order/ Law and Order] " has portrayed the interaction between the police or sheriffs and the DA. Just how close the TV show is to the reality of routine life as a DA is a matter of opinion, however. Earlier, from the 1930s through the 1950s, "Mr. District Attorney" was a popular comic book character, radio show, and finally a TV series.