Federal and Local Prosecutors in the United States
Question 10 • Introduction to Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security
What is meant by a “private prosecutor?”
Answer
A
A German practice left over from the eighteenth century legal system in which victims became their own prosecutors in family court.
B
An attorney hired by a private individual or family today to charge, try, and punish criminals for crimes committed against their families.
C
Early in the twentieth century, American victims’ families were able to hire their own attorneys to prosecute alleged criminals in order to receive any justice at all.
D
A standard practice in eighteenth century England in which the victim’s family hired its own prosecutor to bring charges against an alleged criminal.