History Main / PersecutingProsecutor

** ''Series/LawAndOrder'':
*** Jack [=McCoy=] nearly crosses this line in "[[Recap/LawAndOrderS8E11UnderTheInfluence Under The Influence]]" to bring down a drunk driver because he lost a colleague (and former lover) to a drunk driver.

*** ADA Casey Novak was a borderline example, often bending the rules to get convictions, and she was eventually suspended for misconduct in the case of a police officer accused of rape.
*** Her replacement Kim Greylek was a straight example, repeatedly using the power of her office to give sex offenders the harshest sentences possible, even when it did more harm than good. Particular mention goes to her conduct in "Babes", where she goaded a suspect into punching her just so she'd have an excuse to prosecute them despite a lack of other evidence.
*** Alexandra Cabot was also a straight example, though she was rarely called out on it. Particularly as a character in the short-lived ADA-centered spin-off ''Convictions'', which sees her sometimes work against the ideals of the SVU department. She's the niece of a prominent judge and not at all shy about asking him for favors or leaning on other judges she has personal connections with to get her way. She eventually leaves the law field after failing to prosecute an abusive husband who later murdered his wife; "Sunk Cost Fallacy" sees her [[spoiler:now instrumental in an organization that helps battered wives and their children "disappear," achieving justice in a different way entirely.]] This horrifies Olivia, as Alex isn't at all concerned about flaunting the law to do it.

*** Michael Cutter is definitely not above doing actions that were just a razor's edge away from unlawful (or at least severe misconduct) to get whoever is the criminal of the week. One example is in the episode "Tango", where he discovers that one of the jurors of his current case is a StalkerWithACrush of Connie Rubirosa and he tries to exploit this [[JuryAndWitnessTampering by offering him to meet with Rubirosa in exchange for a "guilty" vote]].

* ''Film/JackReacher'': Alex Rodin, the District Attorney of Pittsburgh, has built up a reputation as [[AlwaysGetsHisMan an invincible prosecutor]] because he has [[ShameIfSomethingHappened threatened]] the people he prosecutes (without a defense lawyer present) with slamming the absolute worst sentence he can devise down on their heads (up to and including the death penalty) if they have to go to court ''unless'' they confess. His own daughter Helen makes clear her suspicions that [[MiscarriageOfJustice the jail is flooded with wrongfully accused suspects from cases that were allowed to go cold because they did not want to take their chances fighting Rodin in court]], which is the reason she takes the James Barr case. Rodin Senior is such a hardcore jerk -- even once accusing Helen of taking the case because she wishes to ''[[ItsAllAboutMe rebel against him]]'' instead of enforcing due process -- [[spoiler:that he makes a highly effective RedHerring about who is the Zec's mole in the Pittsburgh justice system.]]

*** Jack [=McCoy=] nearly crossed this line in "[[Recap/LawAndOrderS8E11UnderTheInfluence Under The Influence]]" to bring down a drunk driver because he lost a colleague (and former lover) to a drunk driver.
*** Another example could be Michael Cutter. He was definitely not above doing actions that were just a razor's edge away from unlawful (or at least severe misconduct) to get whoever was the criminal of the week. One example is in the episode "Tango", where he discovers that one of the jurors of his current case is a StalkerWithACrush of Connie Rubirosa and he tries to exploit this [[JuryAndWitnessTampering by offering him to meet with Rubirosa in exchange for a "guilty" vote]].

** [[TheDreaded Manfred Von Karma]], Edgeworth's aforementioned EvilMentor, is pretty much the embodiment of this trope. A legendary prosecutor who is driven by [[ThePerfectionist an absolute obsession with perfection]], for forty years Manfred has held his undefeated streak in the courtroom, and he is willing to resort to literally any length to maintain it. Thus he regularly withholds evidence, coaches and intimidates witnesses, harasses the defence council and even flat-out bullies judges into submission. During his long career, he has ruined the lives of hundreds of innocent people and sent an unknown number to their deaths. He also spent years enacting an intricate revenge plot against [[spoiler:Gregory Edgeworth]] for exposing his use of forged evidence (but still didn't lose the trial). [[spoiler:First by murdering Gregory, then Manfred spent years building up Edgeworth to ensure he grew into Gregory's antithesis, all so he could [[FrameUp frame him for two other murders]] and thus utterly destroy Edgeworth's legacy.]] [[EvilIsPetty All because of a minor blemish on his record]].

* ''Film/JackReacher'': Alex Rodin, the District Attorney of Pittsburgh, has built up a reputation as [[AlwaysGetsHisMan an invincible prosecutor]] because he has [[ShameIfSomethingHappened threatened]] the people he prosecutes (without a defense lawyer present) with slamming the absolute worst sentence he can devise down on their heads if they have to go to court ''unless'' they confess. His own daughter Helen makes clear her suspicions that [[MiscarriageOfJustice the jail is flooded with wrongfully accused suspects from cases that were allowed to go cold because they did not want to take their chances fighting Rodin in court]], which is the reason she takes the James Barr case. Rodin Senior is such a hardcore jerk -- even once accusing Helen of taking the case because she wishes to ''[[ItsAllAboutMe rebel against him]]'' instead of enforcing due process -- [[spoiler:that he makes a highly effective RedHerring about who is the Zec's mole in the Pittsburgh justice system.]]

* An early episode of ''WesternAnimation/FairlyOddParents'' gave us [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Jorgen Von Strangle]] acting as the persecutor in a KangarooCourt.

[[caption-width-right:350:"...You'll what, Mr. Dent?" "Hmm? Sorry, just indulging in a [[ImagineSpot spot of imagination.]]"]]

* Dr. Cohen from ''Film/BeauIsAfraid'' spends the final KangarooCourt scene acting as Mona's mouthpiece for all of the deranged ways she thinks Beau wronged her, entirely ignoring what protestations Beau and his defense attorney (who's at the far end of the auditorium and doesn't have an amplified voice like Cohen does) can manage to his InsaneTrollLogic

*** Alexandra Cabot was also a straight example, though she was rarely called out on it. Particularly as a character on the short-lived ADA-centered spin-off ''Convictions,'' which sees her sometimes work against the ideals of the SVU department. She's the niece of a prominent judge and not at all shy about asking him for favors or leaning on other judges she has personal connections with to get her way. She eventually leaves the law field after failing to prosecute an abusive husband who later murdered his wife; "Sunk Cost Fallacy" sees her [[spoiler:now instrumental in an organization that helps battered wives and their children "disappear," achieving justice in a different way entirely.]] This horrifies Olivia, as Alex isn't at all concerned about flaunting the law to do it.

* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': '''''Every''''' prosecutor the protagonist faces (except [[NiceGuy Klavier Gavin]] and [[WarmUpBoss Winston Payne]]) comes to this at some point. However, CharacterDevelopment often makes them change their ways.

* The Season 3 finale of ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' has the leader of Vigilance put everyone he can find who is tied to the dubiously legal Northern Lights project put on trial before a KangarooCourt. One of his courtroom antics is summarily executing one of the suspects on the witness stand for refusing to self-incriminate himself.

*** Alexandra Cabot was also a straight example, though she was rarely called out on it. Particularly as a character on the short-lived ADA-centered spin-off ''Convictions,'' which sees her sometimes work against the ideals of the SVU department. She's the niece of a prominent judge and not at all shy about asking him for favors or leaning on other judges she has personal connections with to get her way. She eventually leaves the law field after failing to prosecute an abusive husband who later murdered his wife; "Sunk Cost Fallacy" sees her [[spoiler: now instrumental in an organization that helps battered wives and their children "disappear," achieving justice in a different way entirely.]] This horrifies Olivia, as Alex isn't at all concerned about flaunting the law to do it.

** In ''Spirits of Justice'', there are several of them in Khura'in including the above-mentioned Gaspen Payne and Nahyuta Sahdmahi. [[spoiler:The latter would ''like'' to be a normal prosecutor but he has to act like he believes Ga'ran's anti-lawyer propaganda because Ga'ran is holding his little sister hostage.]]

* DependingOnTheWriter, [[ComicBook/TwoFace Harvey Dent]] may be portrayed this way prior to his scarring. Even more sympathetic takes, like "Eye of the Beholder" or ''ComicBook/TheLongHalloween'', will often have him toying with JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope in his zeal to catch Gotham's [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections untouchable]] criminals, ranging from planting evidence to flat-out murder.

* Dr. Cohen from "Film/BeauIsAfraid" spends the final KangarooCourt scene acting as Mona's mouthpiece for all of the deranged ways she thinks Beau wronged her, entirely ignoring what protestations Beau and his defense attorney (who's at the far end of the auditorium and doesn't have an amplified voice like Cohen does) can manage to his InsaneTrollLogic

* ''Theatre/{{Parade1998}}'': Leo Frank's prosecuting attorney Hugh Dorsey is portrayed as a callous, politically ambitious man who coaches witnesses to make false incriminating statements about Leo. When Leo's sentence is commuted from death to life imprisonment by Georgia's governor, Dorsey helps to stoke the public outrage that leads to Leo's lynching, and then [[KarmaHoudini successfully replaces the governor himself]].

*** Alexandra Cabot was also a straight example, though she was rarely called out on it. Particularly as a character on the short-lived ADA-centered spin-off ''Convictions,'' which sees her sometimes work against the ideals of the SVU department. She's the niece of a prominent judge and not at all shy about asking him for favors or leaning on other judges she has personal connections with to get her way. She's also not afraid to play dirty in the courtroom; honorable mention goes to "Birthright," in which she browbeats a ''six-year-old witness into hysterics on the stand'' to get the child's birth mother (egg donor in a surrogacy-gone-wrong plot) to drop her petition for custody.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Series/MurdochMysteries'': The Crown Prosecutor in "Hangman", who does everything to make sure the defendant gets hanged, even the obviously innocent ones. Once a judge suspects his methods, [[spoiler: he confronts the judge, kills him, and frames a known criminal for it.]]
* ''Series/NCISNewOrleans'': Season four involves the team dealing [[CorruptPolitician US Assistant Attorney General Eric Barlow]], supposedly a star prosecutor with a long history of rooting out corruption, Barlow initially seems simply viciously overzealous in the accusations against Dwyane Pride of excessive force and abuse of power, with him refusing to even consider the possibility Pride is innocent before the investigation has begun. [[spoiler: When in reality every person Barlow has exposed in the past was in fact an innocent whom Barlow himself [[FrameUp framed for all the crimes]], specifically so he could expose them and [[GloryHound reap the glory and rewards]] leading to him ruining dozens of lives. Dwight being his latest victim, Barlow intends to frame him for a massive terrorist attack to net himself even greater prestige]].

* ''Theatre/{{Parade}}'': Leo Frank's prosecuting attorney Hugh Dorsey is portrayed as a callous, politically ambitious man who coaches witnesses to make false incriminating statements about Leo. When Leo's sentence is commuted from death to life imprisonment by Georgia's governor, Dorsey helps to stoke the public outrage that leads to Leo's lynching, and then [[KarmaHoudini successfully replaces the governor himself]].

*** Jack [=McCoy=] nearly crossed this line to bring down a drunk driver because he lost a lover to a drunk driver.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In "The Drumhead", a visiting Admiral begins a witch hunt aboard the ''Enterprise''-D, convinced that there are Romulan spies among the crew (despite her only evidence to that effect being quickly disproven). She relentlessly hounds a medic who concealed a Romulan ancestor on his application to Starfleet, humiliating him in front of the entire crew, and when Captain Picard tries to rein her in, she puts ''him'' in the hot seat with the intent to use his [[RapeAsBackstory experience with the Borg]] as grounds to have him relieved of duty and arrested. When he throws the words of her father (a renowned judge) in her face, she completely snaps and starts ranting, without evidence, that he's a traitor to the Federation and that she's "brought down bigger men that [him]". Fortunately, this rant neatly discredits her in front of the visiting Chief of Starfleet Security, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard whom she had invited to watch the proceedings]], and she's sent home in disgrace.

** Simon Blackquill from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'' has no problem with threatening witnesses to ensure their cooperation, psychologically manipulating everyone in the courtroom, attacking the defense with a RazorWind, and siccing his pet hawk on everyone. Oh, and he's a ''convicted murderer''. [[spoiler:He's faking it. The bird attacks are real and so is the sarcasm, but he's actually both entirely honest in his work and completely innocent; he framed himself for Metis Cykes' murder because Metis' daughter Athena had implicated herself pretty badly, and was [[TraumaInducedAmnesia so badly traumatized she forgot the whole incident]].]]