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Glite Dictionary
state's attorney

state's attorney

28 6.8
A government lawyer who brings criminal charges for the state
  • noun
  • /steɪts əˈtɜrni/
  • Formal
translation icon : fiscal estatal (EE. UU.)
  • After reviewing the evidence, the state's attorney decided to proceed with the criminal charges.
  • state's attorney general

Examples

  • It arrived at the state's attorney's office the day after her death.

    Guilty as Sin (1993)

  • The DuPage and Kane County state's attorneys are so frustrated.

    Blog text (26)

  • I have talked to the state's attorney and hope I can be heard.

    Blog text (9)

  • The state's attorney's office say your fingerprints are all over that window.

    Guilty as Sin (1993)

  • There were three state's attorneys assigned to the juvenile unit.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Didn't the state's attorney explain this to you?

    Xtinction: Predator X (2010)

  • Here's a copy of the letter she sent to the state's attorney's office.

    Guilty as Sin (1993)

  • I'm going to the state's attorney's office tomorrow to tell them all I know about David Greenhill.

    Guilty as Sin (1993)

  • Later, outside the courtroom, after two hours of testimony and cross-examination by the state's attorney, they said that I had gotten it right.

    Academic text (1990)

  • A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard Law School, Granholm served as her state's attorney general before being elected governor.

    Blog text (24)

Synonyms

prosecutor
vsstate's attorney
789 4.6

A lawyer who represents the government and brings charges against someone accused of a crime

refers specifically to the state-level prosecuting role rather than any level
district attorney
vsstate's attorney
  • Formal
153 4.2

A lawyer who brings criminal charges for the government in a local area

denotes the same function but at the state level, not district-limited
DA
vsstate's attorney
  • US
123 6.6

A government lawyer who brings criminal charges in a district court

is statewide in scope rather than restricted to a single district
state attorney
vsstate's attorney
  • Specialized
24 5.5

A lawyer who brings criminal cases in court for the state government

has identical meaning but uses a slightly different official name
prosecuting attorney
vsstate's attorney
  • Specialized
10 5.9

A government lawyer who tries to prove someone committed a crime in court

is the same role but often called differently by jurisdiction
public prosecutor
vsstate's attorney
  • UK
2 4.1

A government official who brings criminal charges in court for the state

is focused specifically on prosecuting at the state level
prosecuting officer
vsstate's attorney
  • Specialized
6.0

A government lawyer who tries to prove someone committed a crime in court

is narrower, limited to prosecutions brought by the state government

Surface Forms

state's attorney singular
state's attorneys plural

Morphology

state's + attorney

The phrase is compositional: the possessive 'state's' indicates the attorney belongs to or represents the state, and 'attorney' is a lawyer, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a government lawyer/prosecutor. This follows a common possessive + professional noun pattern found across languages, so the meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

State's attorney comes from the simple idea that the state's (the government) has an attorney — a lawyer who acts for it in court. So, state's attorney means 'a lawyer who represents the government and brings criminal charges'.