While District Attorneys or DA’s are main stage on the American courtroom dramas we watch on TV, they are nowhere to be found within Canada’s justice system.
In the United States, prosecutions are conducted by the District Attorney’s Office, and the District Attorney is an elected official. His or her role in the administration of justice is very “hands-on,” with decisions being made on many files.
When it is time for re-election, the District Attorney will fail or succeed based on the public’s perception of the performance of the prosecution service. For that reason, prosecutors may feel restricted in making tough calls, or in some cases, they may be prohibited from taking the course of action they deem appropriate.
In Canada, the Crown Prosecutor is the Agent of the Attorney General. Though the Attorney General is an elected official and a member of the governing party, there is a traditional separation of that Minister from the rest of Cabinet. Additionally, the Attorney General rarely, if ever, gets involved in the prosecution of a specific case. The Attorney General of Alberta is also the Minister of Justice and as such, he or she is ultimately accountable to the public for the criminal justice system.
The Deputy Attorney General, who is a very senior member of the civil service, does not change with the government. So while the government will make policy for the Justice Department, actual decisions regarding individual files will practically never make their way into the realm of an elected official.
In the U.S., the case for the prosecution may be presented to the grand jury who will decide whether, and which, charges should be laid. The grand jury is composed of members of the public, representing “a fair cross-section of the community.” There are both federal and state grand juries.
The American grand jury is an English institution that has been eliminated in the Canadian system. In Canada, that decision rests entirely with the Attorney General and his agents.
Alberta’s prosecution service uses two tests to decide whether a prosecution will proceed: if the evidence is such that there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction and if proceeding with the prosecution is in the public good. Both must exist at all stages of the prosecution and one of a prosecutor’s duties is to continually reassess the file to ensure it satisfies both criteria.
The yelling and dramatic activities depicted as occurring in American courtrooms (whether or not they really happen anywhere other than in Hollywood) are completely unknown in Canadian criminal courts. Lawyers do not benefit from these displays, and judges simply do not permit them.
This article is part of the Government of Alberta’s commitment to help inform Albertans about the justice system. For further information visit http://www.gov.ab.ca/, or contact us for more information by phone 780-427-8530 (dial 310-0000 toll free anywhere in Alberta), or by e-mail at PLE.Coordinator@gov.ab.ca.