Camille
What are the Pros and Cons of being a Prosecutor?
My dream is to be a Prosecutor, but I’ve only heard good things about the job (well except the giant student loan you must pay because of law school) .I want to know the bad things about the job so I can be prepared too. #criminal-justice #law #prosecutor #attorney #criminal-justice #lawyer
2 answers
Ro L
Ro’s Answer
I have worked with prosecutors in the DA offices in NY, and eventually many go into private practice, but in many Asian countries, being a prosecutor is considered an elite position because it carries high pay and great social value.
In either region, the position has its benefits and negatives. One negative is that if you have a "big case", the defense is usually well funded (that's why many large firms do criminal defense) and you may be doing to work of two. In the US, prosecutors and DA also must be aware of the political climate and consider party allegiance do keep their positions, or for promotions. (I'm not sure how it is in Vietnam)
If you are interested in the US law, it's also important to consider where you want to be a prosecutor. For example, if you want to work in NY, it would benefit you to go to a law school in NY so you will learn NY law and pass the NY Bar exam. If you go to a school in NY but want to practice in Texas, the states have different law and you are trained a little differently in law school, so this is an important consideration.
I wish you the best of luck in your career choice - prosecutors are an integral part of the criminal system, and are often underappreciated here in the States.
Kim Igleheart
Kim’s Answer
Camille,
In my county, here in Texas, there is a high turnover rate in the DA's office. It is a common first job for many new lawyers. They then move on to other jobs. This means that when a prosecutor leaves, someone else must take over their caseload. That person will first have to figure out the case, and the other prosecutor's plan. Hopefully they left good notes! Even so, your strategy on how you would have handled it might be different, but, the case might be too far along for you to be able to make changes to the strategy.
Also, sometimes things get lost, misplaced, or otherwise overlooked along the way. I watched one case where the defense had made the prosecutor's office aware of bodycam video. A new prosecutor came in. The video info got buried. The prosecutor therefore allowed officers to testify that there was no video, and then the defense introduced the video, which made the prosecution look bad!
A good thing about turnover though, is, should you decide to make it a career, you should be able to move up. You will also have the opportunity to mentor the other new prosecutors as they come along!
Another good thing is you learn the ropes of the prosecutor's office, so, if you want to go into criminal defense, you will already have an idea of how your adversary thinks!
A bad aspect, not to be taken lightly: Even though you might think you are doing good by getting bad people off the streets, their friends and family won't agree with that assessment. If you are responsible for locking up a husband, a son, a father, etc, there can be threats made on your life. That is probably the worst thing I can think of!
I really think the good outweighs the bad, especially if you want to later go into criminal defense. Either way, I look at all jobs as stepping stones to the next job. Things aren't as permanent as they once were. So, try it!