Commonwealth's attorney

Commonwealth's Attorney is the title given to the elected prosecutor of felony crimes in Kentucky and Virginia. Other states refer to similar prosecutors as district attorney or state's attorney.

The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case against an individual suspected of breaking the law, initiating and directing further criminal investigations, guiding and recommending the sentencing of offenders, and are the only attorneys allowed to participate in grand jury proceedings.

A commonwealth's attorney is the highest law enforcement official in his or her jurisdiction and in many jurisdictions supervises a staff which includes a chief deputy commonwealth's attorney, deputy commonwealth's attorneys and assistant commonwealth's attorneys.

A commonwealth's attorney is a constitutional officer, which means that the job is established in the state's constitution which defines the position, the broad powers of the elected officeholder and in Virginia, the requirement that every county and every city be served by a commonwealth's attorney. Cities in Virginia are independent jurisdictions (hence the term "independent city," a designation conceptually similar to that of cities having imperial immediacy under the Holy Roman Empire) and not part of any county.

Commonwealth

Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic".

The English noun "commonwealth" in the sense meaning "public welfare; general good or advantage" dates from the 15th century. The original phrase "the common-wealth" or "the common weal" (echoed in the modern synonym "public weal") comes from the old meaning of "wealth", which is "well-being", and is itself a loose translation of the Latin res publica (republic). The term literally meant "common well-being". In the 17th century the definition of "commonwealth" expanded from its original sense of "public welfare" or "commonweal" to mean "a state in which the supreme power is vested in the people; a republic or democratic state". "Better things were done, and better managed ... under a Commonwealth than under a King." Pepys, Diary (1667)

Three countries – Australia, the Bahamas, and Dominica – have the official title "Commonwealth", as do four US states and two US territories. More recently, the term has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations, most notably the Commonwealth of Nations, an association primarily of former members of the British Empire, which is often referred to as simply "the Commonwealth".

Attorney

Attorney may refer to:

See also