Assistant district attorney redirects here. The district attorney (DA), in many jurisdictions in the United States, represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney – an elected or appointed official – is the highest officeholder in the legal department of the jurisdiction – generally the county in the U.S. – and supervises a staff of assistant or deputy district attorneys. Depending on the system in place, district attorneys may be appointed by the chief executive of the region or elected by the voters of the jurisdiction. The title “district attorney” is used by several jurisdictions of the United States, including Massachusetts, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas.