The Major Role of District Attorneys

An established legal practitioner with more than two decades of experience as a prosecutor, Susan Corcoran currently serves as an assistant district attorney with the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office. She assists in every aspect of a jury trial as a prosecutor, from motion preparation to teaching litigation techniques. Susan Corcoran began her career in the 1980s with the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office as an assistant district attorney.

Sometimes called 'prosecuting attorney' or 'county attorney' (depending on the state), a district attorney is an elected official who represents the appointed state in criminal cases. The role of district attorneys in each state is to mitigate crime and ensure that justice is served. In this endeavor, they guide and work with law enforcement agencies, interact with crime witnesses, present cases to grand juries, attend hearings, and participate in criminal trials when necessary.

When the police arrest a suspect for a crime, it is not up to them to determine whether criminal charges are to be filed. District attorneys serve this role. As representative of the state, they will gather and scrutinize all pertinent evidence, and talk to witnesses to determine whether the suspect is likely to be involved in a serious crime. If the offense is a misdemeanor, the case may not necessarily end with a trial; instead, the attorney may take a more lenient route such as a plea bargain. A felony charge, on the other hand, typically ends in a trial. The trial may be preceded by a grand jury or preliminary hearing in which the district attorney shows all evidence that links the defendant to alleged offenses.