pros·e·cut·ing attorney

(prŏs′ĭ-kyo͞o′tĭng)

n. Abbr. PA or Pros. Atty.

A public officer empowered to pursue cases against criminal defendants. Also called prosecution, prosecutor, public prosecutor.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

prosecuting attorney

(Law) law US (in some states) an officer in a judicial district appointed to conduct criminal prosecutions on behalf of the state and people

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pros′ecuting attor′ney

(sometimes caps.) the public officer in a county or other jurisdiction charged with prosecuting criminal cases.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

prosecuting attorney - a government official who conducts criminal prosecutions on behalf of the state

prosecuting officer, prosecutor, public prosecutor

law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order"

DA, district attorney - an official prosecutor for a judicial district

attorney, lawyer - a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice

functionary, official - a worker who holds or is invested with an office

state attorney, state's attorney - a prosecuting attorney for a state

Translations

prosecuting attorney

[ˈprɒsɪkjuːtɪŋəˈtɜːnɪ] n (Am) → procuratore m

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

But first, the Prosecuting Attorney, who was paid to prosecute all offenders against the People, drew him aside and talked with him privately.

"Why not let it drop!" said the Prosecuting Attorney. "I tell you what you do, Mr.

"Oh, I'll prosecute you all right," retorted the Prosecuting Attorney.

"You'd better shake and make up," the Prosecuting Attorney repeated, and this time there was almost a threat in his voice.

The morning of the trial the Prosecuting Attorney made another attempt to patch up the affair.

"No, you don't," said the Prosecuting Attorney. "I am paid by the People to prosecute, and prosecute I will.

The Judge somehow failed to notice them, while the Prosecuting Attorney and Patsy's attorney shied off from them gracefully.

The Prosecuting Attorney interposed, demanding to know which of the two cases lumped together was, and by what right Patsy's lawyer, at that stage of the proceedings, should take the witness.

Both Patsy's attorney and the Prosecuting Attorney rested their cases, letting everything go before the Court without argument.

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He decided that, in his ignorance, he had wasted his own time and that of the prosecuting attorney. He should at once have sent in his card to the judge.

View in context

A suspension of hostilities against a sentenced assassin, to enable the Executive to determine whether the murder may not have been done by the prosecuting attorney. Any break in the continuity of a disagreeable expectation.

View in context

Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch announced the decision in a press conference, saying that "the jury of nine whites and three blacks met on 25 separate days over three months, hearing more than 70 hours of testimony from about 60 witnesses, including three medical examiners and experts on blood, toxicology and firearms," AP reported.

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