Exam 2 ( CH5 - CH9)

Courtroom workgroup 

▪ There are multiple “court actors,” meaning legal officials, who operate

inside of courtrooms and who have (1) specialized roles/responsibilities

and (2) regularly work together to process civil & criminal cases.

▪ These officials include:

▪ judges

▪ prosecutors

▪ defense attorneys

▪ defendants

▪ plaintiffs (in civil matters)

▪ others: victims, jury, court administrators, & language interpreters

▪ Together, they are referred to as the “courtroom workgroup.

Prosecutors

▪ In criminal prosecutions, no courtroom workgroup member is,

arguably, more powerful than prosecutors.

▪ Prosecutors are primarily responsible for:

▪ bringing charges against individuals who are accused of a crime

▪ representing the government’s interest in court

▪ Operate in both federal & state courts

Importance of prosecutors

▪ Central position within the CJS & courts – they act as

“gatekeepers,” meaning they have considerable control over the

court’s caseload through their decisions (e.g., charging & plea

bargaining).

▪ Play an active role in all aspects of a criminal matter – from

investigation of crimes, arrest, prosecution, sentencing, and

beyond (e.g., probation & parole).

▪ Operate with nearly limitless discretion & much of their business is

conducted behind closed doors.

Hierarchy of federal prosecutors

▪ The federal court system consists

of three types of prosecutors:

(1) U.S. Attorney General

(2) U.S. Attorneys

(3) Assistant U.S. Attorneys

(1) U.S. Attorney General

▪ At the top of the federal court system hierarchy is the U.S.

Attorney General (“U.S. A.G.”).

▪ Member of the presidential Cabinet, head of the Department of

Justice (DOJ), & chief law enforcement officer of the federal

government.

▪ Nominated by the president & confirmed by the Senate

1) U.S. Attorney General, cont’d

▪ Responsibilities:

▪ represents the U.S. in legal

matters

▪ top advisor to the president on all

legal matters

▪ sets law enforcement priorities

for the federal government

(2) U.S. Attorneys

▪ In the federal court system, head prosecutors are referred to as

“U.S. Attorneys.”

▪ U.S. attorneys represent the government in prosecutions involving

acts that violate federal statutes.

▪ There are 93 U.S. Attorneys—one per district—across the 94 U.S.

District Court districts

2) U.S. Attorneys, cont’d

▪ For each judicial district, U.S. Attorneys are appointed by the

president, confirmed by the Senate, & serve 4-year terms.

▪ Note: subject to removal by the President

▪ Although U.S. Attorneys oversee their respective offices (including

how their offices are structured), day-to-day operations are mostly

carried out by “assistant U.S. attorneys.

(3) Assistant U.S. Attorneys (“AUSAs”)

▪ Working under U.S. Attorneys, AUSAs conduct day-to-day operations,

including handling:

▪ investigations,

▪ grand jury proceedings,

▪ & managing trials and appeals

▪ AUSAs are appointed by the AG and are subject to removal by the AG.

▪ The exact number of AUSAs assigned per office varies by the size of the

district and caseloads

Eastern District of PA

▪ One of the largest U.S. Attorney Offices in the country.

▪ 140 assistant U.S. attorneys

▪ 105 non-attorney positions

▪ Led by David Metcalf

▪ nominated by DJT (March 2025)

▪ confirmed by Senate (June 2025)

▪ Consists of three separate divisions:

▪ criminal

▪ civil

▪ administration

▪ For comparison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the

District of NJ consists of six divisions - appeals, civil,

civil rights, criminal, special prosecutions, &

administrative

Hierarchy of state prosecutors

▪ State court systems

consist of three types of

prosecutors:

(1) Attorney General

(2) Chief local prosecutors

(3) Assistant prosecuting

attorneys/Assistant

prosecutors

Attorney Generals

▪ At the top of the hierarchy in each

state is the “Attorney General” (“AG”).

▪ State’s chief legal advisor & chief law

enforcement officer for the state

government.

▪ Current AG of PA – Dave Sunday (R).

▪ elected in 2024 & assumed office in 2025

▪ PA AGs cannot serve more than 2

consecutive terms

Attorney Generals, cont’d

▪ Responsibilities:

▪ represent the state in legal disputes

▪ issue legal advice to state agencies & the legislature

▪ set law enforcement priorities for the state

▪ Note: AGs do not directly supervise chief local prosecutors &

their offices.

1) Attorney Generals, cont’d

▪ In most states (43), including PA, AGs are selected through

popular elections.

▪ In a few other states (7 in total), AGs are appointed by:

▪ governor (NJ, NH, WY, HI, & AK)

▪ state’s Supreme Court (TN)

▪ state’s legislature (ME)

▪ In most states, including PA, the term length is 4 years (except

for in ME & VT [2 years] & Tennessee [8 years])

(2) Chief local prosecutors

▪ State courts are decentralized & so the burden falls on local

jurisdictions (e.g., counties or judicial districts) to prosecute persons

who violate state laws.

▪ Local jurisdictions are led by ”chief local prosecutors” or “District

Attorneys” (”DAs”).

▪ In most states, DAs are elected to office via popular elections & serve

4-year terms

(2) Chief local prosecutors, cont’d

▪ DAs oversee their respective District Attorney’s Office (DAO) &

assistant district attorneys (“ADAs”).

▪ The DA’s role in day-to-day operations largely depends on the

size of the jurisdiction

2) Chief local prosecutors, cont’d

▪ In smaller jurisdictions, DAs play a more active role in the

criminal process (e.g., sometimes appear in court & represent the

government at trial).

▪ In larger jurisdictions, rather than playing an active role in the

criminal process, DAs:

▪ delegate this everyday work to ADAs

▪ manage the office’s organization & long-term planning

▪ set policies & priorities (e.g., mandate the prosecution of certain types of

crimes & setting rules for plea-bargaining that are followed by ADAs)

Prosecutor’s office structure

▪ DAOs, especially the larger ones, maintain a bureaucratic

organizational structure – there is an enforced chain of

command (i.e., a hierarchy).

▪ Philadelphia’s DAO employs such a hierarchical structure:

▪ the elected DA sits atop of the office

▪ everyday operations are overseen by a “first” ADA that are assigned to

numerous divisions

▪ examples of divisions: criminal, juvenile, & victim support services

▪ within criminal divisions in particular, there are multiple units/teams with ADAs

that handle a variety of matters

Modes of prosecution

▪ Depending on how a particular office is organized, different

methods of prosecuting cases can be implemented,

including:

(1) horizontal

(2) vertical

(3) mixed/hybrid

1) Horizontal

▪ Prosecutors are assigned to units that handle specific

steps or functions in the judicial process (one deals with

initial appearances, one with trial, etc.).

▪ Most used by larger offices.

▪ Benefit(s): allows for large amounts of cases to be processed

quickly (i.e., increases efficiency)

(2) Vertical

▪ A single prosecutor handles the all phases of a criminal prosecution

(initial appearances to final disposition).

▪ Most used by smaller offices.

▪ Benefit(s): important for victims & witnesses (i.e., relationship

building) & prosecutors become highly familiarized with cases

(3) Mixed/hybrid

▪Most cases are handled in a horizontal manner,

but the more serious & complex offenses are

handled by specialized units (i.e., vertically)

Philadelphia’s DAO

▪ The 3rd largest DAO in the country – consists of about 600

employees, including 300+ ADAs, detectives, & support staff

for the 1.5+ million people within city & county limits.

▪ Yearly, the office prosecutes around 40,000 criminal cases

Krasner’s progressive prosecution agenda

▪ End cash/monetary bail (“Philly Bail Reform 1.0 & 2.0”)*

▪ Hold those with power accountable (e.g., police misconduct)

▪ Expand alternatives to formal prosecution

▪ Reform the probation system (by, e.g., reducing jail for violations/“detainers”)*

▪ Reduce incarceration, especially of juveniles*

▪ End overly punitive sentences, especially for low-level offenses

▪ Reduce racial disparities throughout the CJS

▪ Employ criminologists & data scientists*

Philadelphia’s mode of prosecution

▪ Philadelphia’s DAO is:

▪ structured into divisions & units/sub-divisions

▪ employs a mixed/hybrid model of prosecution

▪ In Philadelphia, most cases are passed on horizontally

from one unit to the next as cases make their way

through the different stages of the process

Philadelphia’s mode of prosecution, cont’d

▪ Some cases (based on the nature of the charges & case

complexity) are handled entirely by a single ADA who is

assigned to one of the specialized units.

▪ These specialized units include:

▪ homicides & non-fatal shootings

Prosecutorial duties

▪ Throughout a criminal prosecution, prosecutors play many

different roles & make many important decisions.

▪ Before an arrest, prosecutors:

▪ advise law enforcement during investigations

▪ is there enough evidence to make an arrest?

▪ enough to convict?

▪ help prepare arrest & search warrants & may present to judges

▪ engage with potential witnesses to obtain cooperation

Following arrests, prosecutors. . .

▪ Screen cases to determine whether prosecution is appropriate.

▪ Between 33 & 50% of all arrestees are not formally

prosecuted.

▪ impossible to prosecute all arrestees - there are too many &

resources are limited

▪ Once a case is screened, the prosecutor must then make a

“charging decision,” meaning a determination on whether to

charge the individual or not & if so, the specific charges.

Charging decisions

▪ When making charging decisions, prosecutors have nearly

limitless discretion & little oversight.

▪ charging decisions are not reviewable by courts

▪ Typically, prosecutors charge defendants with the most severe

offense(s) possible.

▪ Generally, prosecutorial charging decisions are driven by

several general factors surrounding cases.

Factors impacting charging decisions

▪ Seriousness & nature of the offense(s)

▪ the more serious the offense(s), the higher the danger posed

by the individual, the more likely a case is prosecuted

▪ if the local community perceives certain crimes to be serious,

the more likely they are to be prosecuted

▪ remember, DAs are elected officials