Deputy District Attorney - District Court

(The following essential job functions and examples of duties are illustrative only and are not intended to be all inclusive; positions assigned to this 
class may not perform all of the duties listed.)

• Receives and reviews (for trial, case settlement, or dismissal purposes) felony criminal cases filed by local police agencies.
• Analyzes supplementary case documentation to determine perceived provability/evidence of the elements of the crime initially charged and/or mitigating factors/evidence to support a dismissal.
• Determines formal charges and directs the preparation of applicable documents required for filing with the court. 
• Ensures that defense attorneys are provided discovery and notifies victim(s) in compliance with victim rights laws. 
• Receives and responds to inquiries from the general public and law enforcement on a variety of issues related to the criminal justice system e.g. search and seizure, statutory elements of crimes, affidavits for search/arrest warrants, etc.
• Reviews defendant's criminal history and all factors relating to his ties to the community.
• Appears at initial advisement(s) for the filing of charges and/or to advocate the setting of bond and/or to set a date for preliminary hearing.
• Reviews case facts and supporting documentation to determine the witnesses required to be subpoenaed for the preliminary hearing.
• Meets with victim(s) and filing detective to discuss plea negotiation considerations and communicates same to defense attorney.
• Interviews or directs the interviewing of subpoenaed witnesses in preparation for their testimony.
• Conducts direct examination of witnesses to establish for the Court that probable cause exists to believe that the defendant committed the crime(s) charged.
• Presents oral argument to convince the Court that probable cause has been established and that the case should be bound over for trial.
• Appears at arraignment to continue plea negotiation process.
• Provides defendant with the elements of the offense plead to and states factual basis which supports the offense for Court's acceptance of plea offered.
• Presents and advocates prosecution case at trial.
• Interviews witnesses to ascertain their testimony; as applicable, conducts voir dire of jury candidates and accepts or excuses jurors in light of perceived positions relevant to the victim, defendant, crime charged, and/or facts of the case.
• Prepares and presents opening statement to provide finder of fact with overview of case theory and supporting evidence.
• Conducts direct and re-direct examination of prosecution witnesses to introduce physical and testimonial evidence to prove elements of crime(s) charged beyond a reasonable doubt within necessary foundations.
• Offers objections to defense questions and statements to protect witnesses from abuse and/or to prevent introduction of irrelevant or inadmissible evidence.
• Advocates prosecution position in response to defense objections and/or court rulings to preserve an appellate record.
• Conducts cross-examination of defense witnesses to scrutinize and/or impeach their testimony; prepares jury instructions and advocates prosecution position to the defense and court to negotiate final version.
• Prepares and presents closing and rebuttal arguments to review evidence and advocate for conviction.
• Researches and responds to a wide variety of defense motions, e.g. suppression of statements/evidence, motions in limine, request for sanctions for violation of procedural rules, etc. 
• Researches, prepares, and presents motions on behalf of the people, e.g. amend charges, add charges, 404(b) similar transactions, child hearsay, motions in limine, etc. 
• Researches, prepares, and presents briefs to the Court advocating the People's position regarding legal issues raised during motions practice.
• Acts in an on-call (after hours) capacity to respond to police inquiries regarding search and seizure, probable cause to arrest, non-testimonial identification items, and related legal issues.
• Reviews affidavits for probable cause for arrest and search warrants.
• Contacts on-call judge to arrange time for affiant to sign affidavit in judge's presence.
• May respond to crime scene as requested to offer suggestions to police regarding scope of investigation and preservation of evidence.
• Prepares limited correspondence in instances where out of court communication requires documentation, e.g. advising defense of exculpatory evidence, requests to filing detective for further investigation.
• Attends monthly training meetings; may prepare and present lectures to attorneys on a variety of legal issues related to felony prosecution.
• Attends annual CDAC conference to earn required CLE credits. 
• Makes presentations to schools and community groups to explain the functional aspects of the legal system and/or current issues related to felony matters.

REQUIRED SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, AND   ABILITIES:

• Considerable to extensive knowledge of the rules of criminal procedure and the rules of evidence.
• Ability to effectively apply same in a preliminary hearing/trial setting related to felony offenses.
• Considerable knowledge of state statutes and general knowledge of substantive case law related to felony offenses.
• Ability to advocate and/or present legal/factual scenarios in a clear and persuasive manner to persons of highly varying legal, educational, and socio-economic backgrounds.
• Ability to effectively process and dispose of felony criminal case filings while maintaining a balance of equal justice between victims, the People of the State of Colorado, and affected defendants.
• Ability to assess cases for strengths versus weaknesses and aggravators versus mitigators to determine just and ethical dispositions that are within policies promulgated by the District Attorney.
• Ability to react quickly and appropriately in court to defense objections, oral motions, court inquiries and rulings, and presentations/responses from defense attorneys and witnesses. 
• Ability to write in a succinct and well-reasoned manner.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with superiors, co-workers, defense attorneys, victims, judges, court staff, police officers, witnesses, related agencies' personnel, and the general public.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with same.

     PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: 

     Two (2) years or more prosecuting cases in a criminal court docket.