A prosecutor is an attorney who represents the government throughout the criminal justice process, including arraignment, hearings, trials, and appeals. There are local, state, and federal prosecutors in the United States. In New York, local prosecutors work in District Attorney’s Offices while at the state level cases are prosecuted by the N.Y.S. Attorney General’s Office. At the federal level prosecutors work in one of several U.S. Attorney’s Offices, which are part of the U.S. Department of Justice. The prosecutor also has the power to offer plea bargains, which can mean a defendant is allowed to plead guilty to a less serious offense and face lesser penalties.
