6 Main Differences Between a Criminal Defense Lawyer and a Prosecutor

 Not just you, but many people may not know the difference in concept between a prosecutor and a criminal defense lawyer. Despite the portrayal of both on crime shows or cop TV shows, if you were never entangled in a criminal matter earlier, you may not know the distinction. 

Unless you haven’t ever been involved with the police before or assumed to be a suspect in a crime, you may not know the roles of all the players within a courtroom. The two positions that mostly obscure people are the prosecutor and the principal defense attorney such as a criminal lawyer in Anaheim or other locations. This write-up will explain the distinctive aspects of each one’s job, alleviating all confusion(s) yours. 

 

1. 1.At the very outset, you must acknowledge that both a prosecutor as well as a criminal defense lawyer are attorneys who successfully graduated from law school. Both need to clear the bar exams in their respective state and are sworn in as lawyers. Each of them aspires to be the best lawyer in California or other states. However, the fundamental difference is that the prosecutor represents the interest of the state or Federal government in court, and the criminal defense lawyer works for the individual who is being accused of a crime. So, one is opposing the other side within the courtroom. Basically, they are rivals in a particular case. 

 

2. 2.Another striking dissimilarity is that prosecutors exclusively deal with criminal matters, whereas criminal defense lawyers can represent clients in both criminal as well as civil matters.  

 

3. 3.Prosecutors try to convict a person whom they consider to have committed a crime, whereas a criminal defense lawyer will fight for the privileges of the accused and try to persuade a jury that his or her client was not guilty. 

 

4. 4.An individual can hire a criminal defense lawyer. Else, they can be appointed by the court. In maximum jurisdictions, there is a public defender’s office to employ lawyers to appear for criminal defendants who cannot afford to hire their attorneys. Usually, a public defender is employed by the state or county court and acts as the criminal defense lawyer. Ideal cases that a criminal lawyer may deal with range from fraud to domestic violence. 

 

5. 5.Theoretically, the prosecutor, who is employed by the district attorney’s office, represents the interest of the people within the criminal courtroom. When someone is accused of a crime, that person will be arrested and will subsequently have to be involved in a trial in front of a judge and jury. The prosecutor will gather all of the evidence and submit it to the jury and try to convince the jury of the criminality of the accused. The prosecutor does this by interrogating victims, witnesses, and experts, and presenting evidence. 

 

6. 6.The job of a criminal defense lawyer is to ultimately secure the freedom or “liberty” of the accused. He or she does not need to establish that the accused is innocent. The only thing a defense lawyer needs to do is persuade a jury that the prosecutor did not do enough of his or her job and submit sufficient evidence that the accused committed the crime. The prosecutor has a high bar to meet this benchmark. The benchmark is that the prosecutor must convince a jury about the culpability of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. When the jury does not believe the prosecutor has attained this high benchmark, then the jury will exonerate and deliver a verdict in favor of the defendant. However, this does not signify that the defendant is innocent, it only suggests that the jury does not trust that the prosecutor met the burden to sentence the defendant for a crime. 

 

Inference 

 

So, the bottom line is that if you are in any way involved in any crime or the police, the smartest thing to do is to hire an experienced Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney to protect you and your rights.