The Role of the Prosecutor All serious criminal cases require the participation of three individuals: the judge, the prosecuting attorney, and the defendant's attorney. If one of these is absent from the procedure, "the criminal justice system is incomplete" (Congress). The prosecutor is at a critical stage in the criminal justice system and plays a vital role before, during and after the trial. They perform many functions during the criminal trial. Some of which are investigating, advocating pleas, questioning jurors and witnesses and even being involved during sentencing. The first thing that must be understood is that the prosecutor's duty is to seek justice, not simply to convict. It is essential that its obligation is to protect the innocent as well as convict the guilty, safeguard the rights of the accused as well as enforce the rights of the public. The prosecutor should have maximum knowledge of police work in crime investigation and law enforcement. The prosecutor has made an enormous amount of rambling about what charges will be brought against an accused person or whether to dismiss charges based on lack of evidence. Since his decisions represent a large proportion of the cases that come to court, "the character, quality and efficiency of the entire system depends largely on the manner in which he exercises his broad discretionary powers" (Britani...