Roles of a Prosecutor in a Court Trial

Before the trial begins, the prosecutor's role is to help pick a jury.

Before trial, a prosecutor files criminal charges, seeks an indictment, plea bargains with the defendant's lawyer or drops the charges. However, during a court trial, a prosecutor's role is to win the court case. The prosecutor works on behalf of the state to seek justice for victims of crimes. To accomplish this task, a prosecutor has to complete several steps.

Persuade

During the beginning of the trial, a prosecutor's role is to communicate her case to jurors or the presiding judge if it is not a jury trial. This means that she must explain, or give a speech, why the defendant was charged with the crime such as burglary, rape or murder and how she will prove his guilt. For example, the prosecutor speaks directly to the jurors and outlines the case which may include when the crime occurred, how the defendant committed the crime and what the defendant did after the crime was over. In addition, the prosecutor explains why the defendant is guilty. This means that she tells the jurors about circumstantial evidence or other evidence like DNA evidence linking the defendant to the crime.

Interviewer

Another role a prosecutor has during the trial is interviewer. In other words, he must ask witnesses he calls to the stand questions about the case. When the prosecutor calls witnesses to the stand, he may present evidence such as photographs, diagrams and evidence. For instance, a prosecutor may show autopsy photographs in a murder case and ask a medical examiner or police detectives about what they saw at the crime scene.

Interrogator

When the defense lawyer calls witnesses, it is the prosecutor's role to cross-examine them. Unlike when the prosecution calls witnesses, she has to wait to question each witness until the defense finishes its line of questioning. Once the prosecutor begins questioning the witnesses, she takes a different approach. Instead of being an interviewer, she's more like an interrogator. She constantly questions witnesses about the answers they provided to the defense. The prosecutor may or may not also present evidence when questioning the witnesses.

Persuader

The last role for a prosecutor in a trial is to persuade the jurors or presiding judge that the defendant is guilty. To do this, he must provide a closing argument. During the closing argument, the prosecutor summarizes his case. He reminds the jurors or judge about the witnesses who testified, the evidence presented and why they need to convict the defendant.

References

• Amerca: A Prosector's Role
• American Bar: Chapter 14