Prosecutor abbreviations fall into three groups: local (DA for District Attorney and ADA for Assistant District Attorney, plus state-specific variants), federal (USA for United States Attorney and AUSA for Assistant United States Attorney), and the Attorney General chain (AG, AAG, and SG for Solicitor General). The exact title your local prosecutor uses depends on your state.
Local Prosecutor Abbreviations
The chief criminal prosecutor at the county or judicial-district level is usually elected, decides which cases to charge, and runs an office of line attorneys who handle the day-to-day work. The title varies by state.
DA and ADA
DA stands for District Attorney, the elected top criminal prosecutor in a county or judicial district. New York, California, Texas, and Pennsylvania all use this title. The DA sets charging policy, oversees plea negotiations, and runs the office.
ADA stands for Assistant District Attorney. ADAs handle the actual arraignments, motions, and trials. A busy urban office may employ hundreds of them, each carrying dozens of open cases. On court filings in a DA jurisdiction, the signature line almost always reads “ADA” followed by the lawyer’s name.
SA and ASA
Several states use State’s Attorney instead. Florida, Illinois, Connecticut, and Maryland are the main examples. The top prosecutor in each judicial circuit is the State Attorney (abbreviated SA), and staff lawyers are Assistant State Attorneys (ASA). You’ll see SA on dockets and in internal office communications; formal filings usually spell the title out.
PA and County Attorney
Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Washington use Prosecuting Attorney, shortened to PA. In published court opinions, the formal citation form is Pros. Atty.
Kansas, Nebraska, and parts of Texas use County Attorney for the same role. No standard abbreviation has caught on; the title is usually written out, or informally shortened to Co. Atty. in correspondence.
Commonwealth’s Attorney
Virginia and Kentucky call their local prosecutors Commonwealth’s Attorneys, because both states are officially commonwealths rather than states. The title is distinctive enough that most documents spell it out, though you’ll occasionally see CA informally. Staff attorneys are Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys.
Federal Prosecutor Abbreviations
Federal prosecutors sit within the Department of Justice and handle violations of federal law, including interstate drug trafficking, financial fraud, public corruption, and immigration offenses.
USA and AUSA
USA stands for United States Attorney. The President appoints a U.S. Attorney for each of the 93 federal judicial districts, with Senate confirmation required.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 541 – United States Attorneys Each serves a four-year term and acts as the chief federal law enforcement officer in the district.2Congressional Research Service. Interim and Acting U.S. Attorneys Raise Open Legal Questions
AUSA stands for Assistant United States Attorney. AUSAs do most of the investigative work, grand jury presentations, and courtroom litigation. A large office like the Southern District of New York can have well over a hundred.
FAUSA
FAUSA stands for First Assistant United States Attorney, the person directly below the U.S. Attorney. The FAUSA oversees the office’s criminal, civil, appeals, and administrative divisions and steps in when the U.S. Attorney is unavailable.3United States Department of Justice. United States Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. Announces Selection of Michael G. Considine as First Assistant United States Attorney The abbreviation appears mostly in DOJ press releases and internal announcements rather than on court filings.
Attorney General Abbreviations
Attorneys General sit on a separate track from DAs and U.S. Attorneys, but their abbreviations show up in many of the same places.
AG and AAG
AG stands for Attorney General, used at both the federal and state levels. The federal AG heads the Department of Justice and has supervisory authority over all 93 U.S. Attorneys. State AGs are usually elected and serve as their state’s top legal officer. Most focus on civil matters, consumer protection, and multistate litigation rather than routine criminal prosecution, though the scope of their criminal authority varies by state.
AAG stands for Assistant Attorney General. Where a state AG has broader criminal jurisdiction, AAGs may handle public corruption, organized crime, or Medicaid fraud cases that fall outside what a local DA typically covers.
SG
SG stands for Solicitor General, a federal official within DOJ who supervises and conducts government litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court.4United States Department of Justice. Office of the Solicitor General – About the Office The SG decides which cases the federal government asks the Supreme Court to review and what positions the government takes. Some states have their own Solicitor General, with roles that vary widely.
Why You Rarely See These Abbreviations in Case Names
The individual prosecutor’s name and title almost never appear in a case caption. The prosecution side is identified by the government entity bringing the charge:
- State v.: the most common format, used in the majority of states.
- People v.: New York, California, Illinois, Michigan, and Colorado, among others.
- Commonwealth v.: Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.
- United States v.: all federal cases.
So a state criminal case reads as State v. Johnson or People v. Martinez, and a federal case reads as United States v. Smith. The prosecutor’s name and title (ADA, AUSA, or otherwise) show up in the body of the opinion or in the list of counsel, not in the caption itself.
Quick Reference
- DA: District Attorney
- ADA: Assistant District Attorney
- SA: State’s Attorney (or State Attorney)
- ASA: Assistant State’s Attorney
- PA: Prosecuting Attorney
- USA: United States Attorney
- AUSA: Assistant United States Attorney
- FAUSA: First Assistant United States Attorney
- AG: Attorney General
- AAG: Assistant Attorney General
- SG: Solicitor General