The District Attorney's Office (sometimes referred to as the DA's office) plays a big part in the show, as it is where main character Allison DuBois works as a consultant, helping aid the District Attorney of Phoenix (DA) Manuel Devalos to convict criminals.
History[]
The fictional District Attorney's Office is a place of work and one of the primary settings of the show. It is where criminals are convicted. The office is set in Phoenix, Arizona, alike the rest of the show. The District Attorney's Office is where several main or recurring characters are introduced during the course of the series, including Allison DuBois, the District Attorney of Phoenix Manuel Devalos (Allison's boss), Detective Lee Scanlon (Allison's co-worker) and Lynn DiNovi, the Mayor's liaison and later, Deputy to the Mayor.
The District Attorney's Office is run by District Attorney of Phoenix Manuel Devalos through most of the show's entire run. Manuel's duties as District Attorney are based on that of the real life job as are the roles of the other characters working in the office. Manuel was elected in the role prior to the first season (off-screen) and is made out to be popular with the people of Phoenix. He is also shown to be very successful in the conviction of criminals very much with the use of Allison's aid. He is one of the first people to believe in Allison, who uses her dreams of murders and other violent acts, to piece together clues to and eventually capture criminals.
When Allison's psychic powers are revealed to the general public following her exposure by a journalist, it results in Allison DuBois, Lee Scanlon, Manuel Devalos all losing their jobs in season three finale. Allison's role had been previously been criticised by Larry Watt during several trials in first and second seasons. Dick Van Dyke is put in charge as DA. He goes on to become a recurring antagonist during the show's third and fourth seasons, however is forced to step down after being given months to live due to a cancer diagnosis. This allows Manuel to return to office and he gives Allison her job back after months of awkward relations between her and Lee and him. He makes the public see how much of a help she is to the District Attorney.
In the seventh and final season, Devalos decides to run for Mayor of Phoenix as a career move. In the series finale, time jumping 7 years, he gets the job and Allison is now Assistant District Attorney. In this role Allison is on the hunt for leads to do with the death of her husband Joe DuBois in a plane crash. It is not known how the roles in the District Attorney's Office changes after this as the season seven time jumps a further 41 years to 2052.
Trivia[]
- The title “district attorney” is used by several jurisdictions of the United States of America, however, Phoenix is not one of them.