A Federal Prosecutor’s Job:
The Role of the Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Justice System

Introduction

A “federal prosecutor” plays a very important role in the criminal justice system. They are people who represent the Federal government in a court of law and attempt to prove that a person or company committed a crime. In doing so, each prosecutor must always remember that he/she is a representative of the court and must behave fairly and provide justice to the country's citizens.

Some federal prosecutors are called the “United States Attorney”.

Presidentially-appointed,
Congressionally approved	and confirmed by the Senate.

United States Attorneys serve for a period of four years.

Sometimes, depending on the size of the state, it may be divided into several different areas, or “districts”, with one presidentially appointed United States Attorney for each. The United States Attorney has other attorneys who assist them in prosecuting cases. These other attorneys, are called “Assistant United States Attorneys” (“AUSAs”) and they are not presidentially appointed.

The Assistant United States Attorney’s main job is to present a set of facts to a judge or jury in a court of law and attempt to prove that an individual or company committed a crime. In order to do this, they rely on many people to get their job done—some collect information, interview people about crimes, or simply help them in court.

To give you a better understanding of the work of the Federal prosecutor, the Department of Justice uses facts from a case in Chicago, Illinois, several years ago. Throughout the story, there are definitions of legal terms and descriptions of the prosecutor’s role in each step of the criminal justice system process.

As you can see, the steps in a prosecutor’s job can only be accomplished with the assistance of many people and the hard work of the prosecutor. A typical case involves the efforts of hundreds of individuals before the verdict is reached. All these individuals play very important roles in the administration of justice—keeping criminals off the street and our communities safe for everyone.

The main point about the role of a federal prosecutor is that with each case, the prosecutor tries very hard to do what is both morally and legally right to ensure that justice is served.

Review