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Prosecutors in criminal justice system: A comparative analysis between Indian and US criminal justice system
A Prosecutor is often called the advocate representing the govt of that country in any prosecution or maybe sometimes in civil matters. The basic definition and work of prosecutor are this but the working differs from country to country as depends on whether or not they follow the common law adversarial system of inquisitorial system.
Prosecutors in Indian Criminal Justice System:
Under the Indian Criminal Justice System, the authority to investigate is with the police and for the trial round we have judges, lawyers also involved but everything is done under the supervision of the magistrate. From seeking permission to arrest, to give the reason for the arrest, to investigating and conducting trial this everything is done with the magistrate's permission. Then comes the role of the prosecutor in India mentioned as prosecutor which is defined under section 24 of the Criminal Procedure Code which we'll discuss later.
He is an appointee of the state and represents them in those criminal proceedings. In India when the need to prosecute a case arises the decision is taken by the magistrate on the report submitted by police and then the prosecutor is appointed. The prosecutor is appointed to represent the government in any case or give the state's representation in any criminal case.
Role of the Prosecutor:
The prosecutor's job is to deliver justice to not secure conviction or acquittal so as to satisfy anyone or any motive. His job is to ascertain that whether within the whole procedure of arrest to investigation to trial, whether the law was followed or not. It is his job to provide means to regulate a fair hearing so that no injustice or unlawful activities take place. He should not seem eager but rather ensure both the victim and accused rights are safeguarded.
Prosecutors in the U.S. Criminal Justice System:
As the U.S. is divided into states in a more federal system than India is so the system there differs little from state to state. For 50 states and about 3143 counties there they need their own prosecutor. As the U.S. is a federal republic so only at the federal level, they have unity i.e. form a single system and have prosecutors according to that. Unlike the way they appoint district attorneys by the U.S. general attorney's office for each federal district, the appointment of prosecutors is different.
It is not an appointment at all it is done by way of election i.e. local elections. In the United States, the U.S. federal attorneys act as prosecutors but are elected to their office by the electorates. The Assistant United States Attorney also called a federal prosecutor is appointed by the federal government and they look into such public interest matters in criminal proceedings and even some civil suits.
Role of the Prosecutor in the U.S. Criminal Justice System:
• He is the one who administers and ensures proper criminal justice.
• He has discretionary power to charge a person of some offense, which he must function with utmost care. Although the police have the power to make arrests on doubt the charging capacity falls within the ambit of the prosecutor. And no one can question his/her decisions.
• Thus, in the US criminal justice system generally the prosecutors have an upper hand on the court’s judgment, which affects fairness and justice.
• Also, prosecutors regulate the entire plea-bargaining system, and statistics have shown that almost in 90% of cases defendants plead guilty. Which usually used in the wrong manner by prosecutors as they delve into over-charging practices so that the defendant gets convinced to plead guilty for the lesser charges. As everyone wants to avoid the trial process and is scared of the rigorous sentencing.
