Prosecutor

A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial against an individual accused of breaking the law. Typically, the prosecutor represents the government in the case brought against the accused person.

In most countries, prosecutors are required to actively search for evidence that supports the innocence of the accused. This is not the case in the United States and some regions of the United Kingdom, for example, where prosecutors must however disclose any such exculpatory evidence to the defense that they become aware of.

The United States and certain regions of the United Kingdom are the only jurisdictions in the world where citizens elect prosecutors. The goals in ending the appointment system were to make prosecutors more independent of political patronage and partisan politics,[1] but elections subject prosecutors to political influence, lead them to concentrate on high-profile investigations to win favorable media coverage, have the potential to corrupt prosecutors with campaign contributions, and result in them seeking higher conviction rates instead of primarily seeking justice.[1][2] This also results in systemic racism because 95% of elected prosecutors are white while non whites are overrepresented in the prison population.[3] [[Category:A]]