Quote:
Originally Posted by Clodfobble
I'm confused, Sarge. Don't all the city prosecutors work for the DA's office?
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District Attorneys prosecute felony cases that occur in their jurisdiction. Municipal Prosecutors handle misdemeanor cases in their jurisdiction. Justice Courts or County Courts, which use the County Prosecutor, handle misdemeanor cases generated by the sheriff's department, set bonds in felony cases unless it is one of the 5 heinous crimes which can result in the depth penalty or life in prison, and handle preliminary hearings for District Court.
To be charged by the District Attorney in a felony case, he can take a case directly to the grand jury and seek a secret indictment. That forgoes all of the pretrial hearings and takes the suspect directly to trial reducing the discovery time.
So to answer your question, a municipal prosecutor or county prosecutor can tell the DA to fuck off. Now it really gets interesting when we factor in the federal prosecutors and the duties of Federal magistrates, district judges, and circuit judges.
The whole problem in understanding in who does what can be boiled down to police dramas and that totally unrealistic piece of shit show CSI. Who has ever heard of a forensic investigator making arrests? A forensic investigator only collects and analyzes evidence. The results are given to the criminal investigators ( sworn and commissioned officers) who interpret the evidence and decide whom to arrest.
Whew! That felt good to get off of my chest