1. Department of Law FY18 Criminal Division
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John Skidmore
Criminal Division Director
James Scott
Juneau District Attorney

2. “Prosecute all cases involving violation of state law…”
Criminal Division
02/13/17
“Prosecute all cases involving violation of state law…”
See AS (4)(b)

3. FY14-FY17 Criminal Budget
02/13/17

4. Impacts of Budget Cuts on Services
02/13/17
Capacity to prosecute misdemeanors is down 33% or 6,863
from 2013
Capacity for felony prosecutions
down 3% or 187 4

5. The Duty of a Prosecutor
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The primary duty of a lawyer engaged in public prosecution is not to convict, but to see that justice is done.
-Canons of professional ethics: Canon 5. American Bar Association (1908).
The prosecutor may prosecute with earnestness and vigor – indeed he should do so. But, while he may strike hard blows, he is not at liberty to strike foul ones. It is as much his duty to refrain from improper methods calculated to produce a wrongful conviction as it is to use every legitimate means to bring about a just one.
-Justice George Southerland, Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78, 88 (1935).

6. Stages of a Criminal Prosecution
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Investigation
Informal Referral
Formal Referral
Screening
Pretrial Litigation
Pretrial Resolution
Trial
Post Trial Litigation
It is the duty and obligation of the District Attorney to ensure that citizen’s constitutional rights are safeguarded at every step of the criminal prosecution.

7. Investigation Scene View Advise on legal and constitutional issues
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Scene View
Advise on legal and constitutional issues
Search Warrant Applications

8. Informal Referral Domestic Violence Charging Decisions
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Domestic Violence
Charging Decisions
Arrest decisions

9. Formal Referral Creation of the file Legal/factual analysis
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Creation of the file
Legal/factual analysis
Victim contact
Charged Case
Clerical/administrative obligations
Grand Jury Practice
Uncharged Case
Clerical/administrative tasks

10. Pre-Trial Litigation Arraignment Bail Hearings Discovery
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Arraignment
Bail Hearings
Discovery
Pretrial Motion Practice

11. Pre-Trial Motions Suppress and Dismiss Challenges to Indictment
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Suppress and Dismiss
Challenges to Indictment
In Limine
Petitions for review
____________________________________________________________
Clerical Obligations
Evidentiary Hearings
Pretrial litigation ensures that the evidence admitted at trial violates neither the defendants rights, nor those of the victim.

12. Pre-Trial Resolutions
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“The disposition of criminal charges by agreement between the prosecutor and the accused…is an essential component of the administration of justice. Properly administered, it is to be encouraged. If every criminal charge were subjected to a full-scale trial, the States and the Federal Government would need to multiply by many times the number of judges and court facilities.” -Chief Justice Warren Burger, Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257 (1971).

13. Trial Preparation Reviewing and organizing evidence
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Reviewing and organizing evidence
Victim / witness contact, travel, accommodations
Creating and organizing exhibits
Researching and drafting jury instructions

14. Trial Jury Selection Opening statement and case-in-chief
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Jury Selection
Opening statement and case-in-chief
Rebuttal and closing statement
______________________________
Witness and exhibit coordination
Mid-trial motion practice

15. Sentencing Sentencing Memoranda, Argument Presentation of evidence
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Sentencing Memoranda, Argument
Presentation of evidence
Victim participation
Restitution litigation

16. Post-Trial Litigation
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Motions for a new trial
Appeals – Merit / Sentence
Post Conviction review
Writs of Habeas Corpus

17. -Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1776).
“Justice, however, never was in reality administered gratis in any country.”
-Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1776).
02/13/17