Why are some misdemeanor cases not assigned to a prosecutor, leaving the victim/witness without legal representation at the court hearing?
All misdemeanor cases that come into the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office are reviewed by a Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney. Due to the large volume of misdemeanor warrants received, it is not possible for the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office to be involved in every misdemeanor case. The Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney makes the decision as to whether or not our office will be involved in the case, based on the warrant and any available information. If an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney is not assigned to the case and a private attorney is not hired to represent the defendant, the case will be heard by a trial judge. At the trial, the judge will ask you questions about the incident. If you have any additional witnesses that saw the incident or know something about the case, you will need to contact the General District or Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court clerk’s office (depending on which court is hearing your case) to have additional witnesses subpoenaed for the trial. DO NOT ass
All misdemeanor cases that come into the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office are reviewed by a Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney. Due to the large volume of misdemeanor warrants received, it is not possible for the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office to be involved in every misdemeanor case. The Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney makes the decision as to whether or not our office will be involved in the case, based on the warrant and any available information. If an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney is not assigned to the case and a private attorney is not hired to represent the defendant, the case will be heard by a trial judge. At the trial, the judge will ask you questions about the incident. If you have any additional witnesses that saw the incident or know something about the case, you will need to contact the General District or Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court clerk’s office (depending on which court is hearing your case) to have additional witnesses subpoenaed for the trial. DO NOT ass
