United States Attorney

United States Attorney

Definition of United States Attorney

Note: See a more comprehensive approach to the United States Attorney legal concept in the American Law Encyclopedia

Federal executive officer whose principal responsibility is to prosecute violations of federal civil and criminal law. The position of United States Attorney was established by the Judiciary (Law of the United States) Act of 1789. A U.S. attorney is appointed to a four-year term by the president with Senate confirmation required. Each federal judicial district has one U.S. attorney, who is aided by a number of assistant U.S. attorneys. In addition to prosecuting criminal cases, U.S. attorneys and their assistants defend the interests of the United States in federal district court. U.S. attorneys have considerable discretion in determining which criminal cases to prosecute and which civil cases to settle or pursue to trial. As a result, the U.S. attorney has substantial impact on the docket of the U.S. district courts.

See Also

Attorney General of the United States (Law of the United States) (Law of the United States) Discretion (Law of the United States) Prosecuting Attorney (Law of the United States).

Resources

United States Attorney Related Resources

Notes

United States Attorney (Judicial Personnel)


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