Prosecutor Vs Defense - Two Completely Different Roles

Two Completely Different Roles

Rickey

CJS/220

Rick Jackson

June 11, 2014

Prosecutors and defense counsel are similar in many ways. However, there are some significant differences between the roles that a prosecutor plays in the system compared to the role of a defense counsel. Although they are both lawyers, the roles in which they present themselves are entirely different.

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys both work within the criminal justice system. They both work on criminal cases. The main role of a prosecutor is to charge a particular suspect or group of suspects with a crime or a group of crimes that they want them convicted for in a court of law. It is the job of a defense attorney to defend their client or clients and prevent the prosecutor from obtaining a conviction against them.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys complete the very same schooling in order to become licensed to do their jobs On top of completing a four year undergraduate program, they both must also complete three years of law school in order to complete their juris doctor degree ("Comparison of a Defense Lawyer & a Prosecutor | Chron.com", n.d.). They both must complete several hours of different types of coursework. This coursework is to include contracts, constitutional law, civil procedures, and of course, legal writing ("Comparison of a Defense Lawyer & a Prosecutor | Chron.com", n.d.). After all of the schoolwork is completed, both the defense attorney and the prosecutor still had one more step to complete. They must both take the required test, also known as passing the bar, in order to become an actual attorney.

The government always employs prosecutors. Their job is to serve the state or jurisdiction that they are employed. Another part of their held position is to review arrest reports from investigations. This gives them the freedom to either press charges and go ahead with the court process or drop the charges and move on due to lack of evidence or any other restriction that may keep them from getting a conviction ("Comparison of a Defense Lawyer & a Prosecutor | Chron.com", n.d.).

The government can also employ defense attorney. Their job when working for the government is to serve as a public offender. A defense attorney may also choose to work in the private sector as well. A defense attorney, in some cases, may even own their own actual law firm. The whole reason defense attorneys are hired is so that they can represent those that are being charged