What is a Federal Prosecutor?

A “federal prosecutor” plays a very important role in the criminal justice system. They are attorneys 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.

What is a United States Attorney?

Some federal prosecutors are called the “United States Attorney”. United States Attorneys serve for a period of four years. There are 93 United States Attorneys.

What is a District?

Sometimes, depending on the size of the state, it may be divided into several different areas, or “districts”, with oone 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.