Prosecutor v. Defense Attorney the United States

Prosecutor v. Defense Attorney

The United States justice system is based on the very basic notion that all people who are accused of a crime are considered innocent, unless proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be guilty of committing a crime. This fact means that it is the burden of the state or the prosecuting attorney to prove the accused defendant's guilt to the judge or the jury of peers.(Lectric Law Library, 1) Only in appellate courts are previous facts re-examined, the initial sentencing is prone to emotional feelings stirred up in court, whereas appeals decisions are made discreetly outside of a full public courtroom. In the modern American justice system, the prosecution and the defense are each seeking justice for their respective causes, yet the way that each party goes about in achieving their objectives is entirely different.

In the prosecutor's pursuit of justice, many tools are used, including physical evidence, expert testimony, and witness testimony before the court. Physical evidence is gathered in criminal cases by the police officers and detectives on the scene of the crime. The prosecuting attorney, in conjunction with the municipality or state, uses all this evidence in order to prove the defendant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt. In order to convince the judge or jury of facts presented in the case, expert testimony from doctors, police officers, or other experts in their field is presented to the court. Finally, if there are independent witnesses to the crime being tried, then these witness testimonials are crucial to the prosecution, and therefore every decision must be taken with purpose. Because each criminal case is resolved based on the ability of the prosecuting attorney to prove his or her case, the prosecutor is given the powers of prosecutorial discretion, that is literally the power to decide how cases are to be brought to trial, and who is to be needed in a court case. Prosecutorial discretion also allows prosecutors to set plea bargains, and in states with the death penalty, the decision if and who to charge with death. (Prosecutorial Discretion, 1)