In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, state attorney or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a local government area, typically a county or a group of counties. The exact and scope of the office varies by state. Generally, the prosecutor represents the people of the jurisdiction. With the exception of three states, district attorneys are elected, unlike similar roles in other common law jurisdictions.
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial against the defendant, an individual accused of breaking the law. Typically, the prosecutor represents the state or the government in the case brought against the accused person.
The District Attorney of Los Angeles County is in charge of the office that prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within Los Angeles County, California, United States. The current district attorney (DA) is George Gascón.
Stephen Lawrence Cooley is an American politician and prosecutor. He was the Los Angeles County District Attorney from 2000 to 2012. Cooley was re-elected in 2004 and again in 2008.
A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality.
A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various jurisdictions with criminal courts for appointment to represent indigent persons; the latter are generally called public defenders. The terminology is imprecise because each jurisdiction may have different practices with various levels of input from country to country. Some jurisdictions use a rotating system of appointments, with judges appointing a private practice attorney or firm for each case.
Joshua K. Marquis is an attorney and politician from Astoria, Oregon in the United States. He served as District Attorney for Clatsop County from March 1994 until December 31, 2018. He frequently writes and speaks about capital punishment, and is a national advocate for the death penalty.
Carmen Anthony "Nuch" Trutanich is an American politician. He served as Los Angeles City Attorney from 2009 to 2013.
George Gascón is an American attorney and former police officer who is the district attorney of Los Angeles County. A member of the Democratic Party and a former Republican, Gascón served as the district attorney of San Francisco from 2011 to 2019. Prior to his work as a prosecutor, he was an assistant chief of police for the LAPD, and Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona and San Francisco.
The Dallas County District Attorney is the elected, or appointed by the Texas Governor in the event of a vacancy, district attorney (DA) of Dallas County, Texas. Currently, this position is held by John Creuzot, a Democrat who defeated Faith Johnson, appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, after Susan Hawk resigned in 2016. The office prosecutes offenses under Texas state law classified as felonies, Class A and B misdemeanors, appeals of Class C misdemeanors, and Class C misdemeanors filed in the Justice of the Peace courts, generally by non-municipal police agencies..
The Milwaukee County District Attorney is a state constitutional officer responsible for criminal prosecution in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. The current district attorney is John T. Chisholm, who has served since 2007.
The Government of Los Angeles County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Los Angeles. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of Los Angeles County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, health care, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.
The government of the City of Los Angeles operates as a charter city under the charter of the City of Los Angeles. The elected government is composed of the Los Angeles City Council with 15 city council districts and the mayor of Los Angeles, which operate under a mayor–council government, as well as several other elective offices. Under the California Constitution, all judicial, school, county, and city offices, including those of chartered cities, are nonpartisan. The current mayor is Karen Bass, the current city attorney is Hydee Feldstein Soto and the current city controller is Kenneth Mejia.
Proposition 47, also known by its ballot title Criminal Sentences. Misdemeanor Penalties. Initiative Statute, was a referendum passed by voters in the state of California on November 4, 2014. The measure was also referred to by its supporters as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. It recategorized some nonviolent offenses as misdemeanors, rather than felonies, as they had previously been categorized.
In the United States, a public defender is a lawyer appointed by the courts and provided by the state or federal governments to represent and advise those who cannot afford to hire a private attorney. Public defenders are full-time attorneys employed by the state or federal governments. The public defender program is one of several types of criminal legal aid in the United States.
The Los Angeles County Public Defender's (LACPD) office is an agency of the government of Los Angeles County. LACPD was the first public defender agency in the United States. The current public defender is Ricardo García.
The San Diego City Attorney is an elected official in San Diego, California. The City Attorney serves as the city government's lawyer and as a criminal prosecutor for misdemeanor violations and infractions. The city attorney is elected for four years, and may serve up to two terms. The current city attorney is Mara Elliott. Predecessors include Jan Goldsmith (2008-2016), Mike Aguirre (2004-2008), Casey Gwinn (1996-2004), and John W. Witt (1969-1996). Ms. Elliott is the first woman, and first Latina, to serve as City Attorney for San Diego, California.
Rachael Splaine Rollins is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. attorney for District of Massachusetts from 2022 to 2023. Before that, she was the district attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts.
Michael Nelson Feuer is an American politician and lawyer, who served as Los Angeles City Attorney from 2013 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Feuer previously served three terms in the California State Assembly, representing the 42nd Assembly District, and as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1995 to 2001, representing the 5th Council District.
The 2020 Los Angeles County elections were held on November 3, 2020, in Los Angeles County, California, with nonpartisan blanket primary elections for certain offices being held on March 3. Three of the five seats of the Board of Supervisors were up for election, as well as one of the countywide elected officials, the District Attorney. In addition, elections were held for various community college districts and water districts, as well as the Superior Court.
