What is the difference between prosecutor and attorney

Another difference is that prosecutors only deal with criminal matters, whereas criminal defense lawyers can represent clients in criminal matters as well as civil matters.

Prosecutors attempt to convict a person who they believe has committed a crime while a criminal defense lawyer will fight for the rights of the accused and attempt to convince a jury that his or her client was not guilty. Criminal defense attorneys can be hired by the individual or they can be appointed by the court. A public defender is usually employed by the state or county court and acts as the criminal defense lawyer. Typical cases that a criminal lawyer may handle range from fraud to domestic violence to DUIs.

If someone is suspected of a crime, that person will be arrested and will eventually have to be involved in a trial in front of a judge and jury. The prosecutor will compile all of the evidence and present it to the jury and attempt to convince the jury of the guilt of the accused.

The prosecutor does this by questioning witnesses, victims, experts, and submitting evidence. A criminal defense lawyer does not have to prove that the accused is innocent.

The only thing a defense lawyer has to do is convince a jury that the prosecutor did not do his or her job and submit enough evidence that the accused committed the crime. The prosecutor has a high bar to meet with this standard. If the jury does not believe the prosecutor has reached this high standard, then the jury will acquit and render a verdict in favor of the defendant. Again, this does not mean that the defendant is innocent, it just means that the jury does not believe the prosecutor met the burden to convict the defendant of a crime.

The role of a criminal defense lawyer is not just to represent their clients in criminal trials, but it is also to advise clients when they are being questioned by the police. Most of the time, when you are asked to come to the police station to be questioned by an officer or a detective, authorities already think that you committed a crime.

In most instances, you can expect to not leave the police station. This is where a criminal defense lawyer comes in. The police will try to convince that nothing bad will happen to you if you just cooperate with them and answer their questions, that you will be able to go home in no time at all. This typically does not happen, no matter what you see in cop shows. What they are actually thinking is that you are most likely guilty so we want to get you to spill as much as you can to incriminate yourself.

Prosecutors are government lawyers who prosecute criminal cases. To prosecute means to lay a charge in a criminal matter and to prepare and conduct legal proceedings against a person charged with a crime. The prosecutor prepares the case by:. A defence lawyer is a lawyer who represents a person charged with a criminal offence.

It is the defence lawyer's job to ensure that the rights of the accused are protected throughout the criminal process. At trial, a defence lawyer must:. The testimony of witnesses and victims is a very important part of the criminal justice process. All the facts and evidence in a case must be presented to the Court.

To ensure this, witnesses and victims may receive a subpoena to testify in court. A subpoena is an order of the Court that orders a person to appear in court and give evidence. Witnesses and victims should read the subpoena carefully. You will not receive a reply. This page has been archived and is no longer updated.

Find out more about page archiving. You are in:. Legal terms. Recently we had a discussion about the correct use and the difference between the following words: solicitor lawyer attorney barrister counsellor Is there any difference in use? Roger replies:. The word lawyer is a general term and can mean anyone who gives legal advice or believes himself learned in one or more areas of law - it is often used to describe solicitors, barristers, legal executives and others - more often than not it is used to describe the whole legal profession The traditional legal profession is however divided into solicitors and barristers.