A Day In The Life Of A Deputy District Attorney At Trial Litigation
A deputy district attorney's daily life is highly variable, evolving from a focus on arraignments early in a career—where "defendants show up...[and] decide to plead guilty or not guilty"—to now encompassing negotiations with attorneys, jury trials, court hearings, and even involvement in early investigative stages at police stations. As Lance notes, "no one date is the same," though with increased experience, there is now "a bit more controlled" structure to each day.
Criminal Law, Trial Litigation, Arraignment, Negotiation, Criminal Investigation
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Lance Cotton
Deputy District Attorney
Trial Litigation
California State University: Long Beach
Chapman University, School of Law
Criminal Justice
Law
Legal
Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Greek Life Member, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. The daily life of a Deputy District Attorney varies greatly depending on experience level and the day of the week.
2. Early career involved focusing on filing criminal cases and appearing at arraignments, where defendants are informed of charges and enter pleas.
3. Current responsibilities include arraignments, negotiating case dispositions with attorneys, conducting jury trials, attending hearings, and participating in early investigative stages with the police.
Transcript
What does a day in the life of a deputy district attorney look like?
It really varies. I've been in the profession for a bit over five years now. So, early on in my career, I focused a lot more on filing the criminal case and only appearing at the arraignment stage.
That would probably require a lot of time to explain the details of an arraignment, but in short, defendants show up. We tell them what their charges are, and they decide to plead guilty or not guilty. They decide whether or not they want to continue the case or fight the case to get a lawyer.
A lot goes on in arraignment court. So, early in my career, I spent a lot of time doing that. But these days are different. Sometimes I'm doing the arraignments, sometimes I'm negotiating with attorneys on how to best provide a disposition on cases.
And sometimes I'm in trial conducting jury trials, so no one date is the same. Early on, it was a lot more varied. These days, it's a bit more controlled. But depending on the day of the week, I could be in court doing a hearing. Sometimes I am at the police station, more involved in the early investigative stages of criminal cases. It really just depends on the day.
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