Complaints Against District Attorneys

Complaints against District Attorneys are, in certain specified situations, handled directly by the Office of the Attorney General. However, the Attorney General's intervention is appropriate only where there is a demonstrated conflict of interest which would disqualify the district attorney from a particular case. Also, if there is an obvious abuse of the district attorney's legal discretion in the decision whether to file a criminal charge, the Attorney General may intervene.

The fact that an incident has created strong feelings within the community does not mandate intervention by the Attorney General, especially since the district attorney is the official elected by the people of the county to make prosecutorial decisions including those which may be controversial or unpopular.

Complaints against District Attorney's must be made in writing. Keep in mind that a report which does not contain specific information about misconduct that violates state law cannot be acted upon.