Park City Branch Court

SEXNER’S PRO LEGAL TIP: In Lake County, as well as many other nearby Illinois counties including DuPage, Will, Kane, Cook and McHenry, your lawyer may encounter more than one type of prosecutor. The typical prosecutor that prosecutes the vast majority of criminal and traffic matters is a State’s Attorney, and in Lake County, that’s the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office. It’s a large organization with dozens of assistant prosecutors, and many levels of supervisors. Sometimes on serious cases, the assistant State’s Attorney in the courtroom may not have the proper authorization to offer a deal without approval from his or her supervisor.

The other kind of prosecutor which is very common in Lake County however is called a local prosecutor”. This is typically a regular criminal attorney who also has a contract with a specific city (like Waukegan, Gurnee or Libertyville) to prosecute cases on behalf of that particular city. The positive aspect of such a local prosecutor is that the prosecutor typically has no supervisor that he/she needs to get approval from when negotiating a plea arrangement. Therefore, your attorney can negotiate directly and often times more quickly, with this prosecutor to help bring your case to a close.

Of course, this positive aspect can also have its drawbacks as well. While it’s good that the local prosecutor can make all the decisions without the necessity of consulting with a supervisor, there are some cases when it’s good to have a supervisor available. If the local prosecutor refuses to reduce the charges for instance, a judge is without the power to do so.

If such a case was being prosecuted by the State’s Attorney’s Office, your attorney might still have a chance to secure a better deal by dealing with a supervisor, but with a local prosecutor, the final offer will be the final offer. Nevertheless, attorneys such as those at Sexner & Associates LLC, have experience successfully dealing with local prosecutors as well as State’s Attorneys.