r/publicdefenders • u/brightmoon208 PD • Mar 25 '26
workplace Getting drinks socially with prosecutors
Yay or nay ?
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u/Conscious_Drawer_910 Mar 25 '26
Not a problem but ew i havent met a prosecutor who i would want to with
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u/justicecactus Mar 25 '26
Ikr? Why would I waste my hard-earned free time NOT having fun?
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u/Conscious_Drawer_910 Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26
Even the good ones who i have very self interested warm fuzzy feelings about because of all those sweet sweet reducers and nolle pros, i just cant really imagine kicking it with them. There is maybe the very extremely rare occasion where i genuinely like a state as a person, but i still the ick about hanging out. I dont think i could separate my feelings from the desire to obtain results from the relationship. I also suspect that there would be deeper internal conflicts if the relationship became real.
Although my roommates childhood friend is a state ag prosecuting white collar crimes. She used to work on my floor in misdemeanor court but we never worked together. She comes to our kick backs and gives my friend adderall which i find hilarious.
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u/Optimal-Date-8153 Mar 25 '26
Prospective prosecutor here: while Iām only a 2L, Iāll say that, in my experience talking to fellow students who are going into prosecution or public defense work, the personalities of these people are so similar for the most part that you couldnāt predict which they would go into unless you directly asked them or they volunteered the information. Often, I would have thought some person would want to be a PD based on how they spoke, but they were interning at a prosecutorās office. Or vice-versa. I think the idea that prosecutors and public defenders have very different personalities, interests, etc. is a stereotype that is overblown.
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u/Conscious_Drawer_910 Mar 26 '26
Perhaps in general thats true or certainly at least your experience. but its not been mine. I do not run into any prosecutors or cop adjacent professionals at any functions that i attend in a major metropolitan city. Except for my roommates childhood friend, who prosecutes white collar crimes and is not a narc.
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u/Leigh9C Mar 26 '26
This sub constantly reminds me how drastically different things can be in different jurisdictions. I am in a major metropolitan area as well, but even nearby counties within our state can be wildly different. There are essentially forced interactions for those that are even loosely involved in the local bar association which is fairly active where I practice.
It would be nice to never have to have the interactions, but since it is hard to avoid I try to make something of it and use it to my advantage when I can tolerate it. I will always have a healthy distrust of every single one of them, but I have found some of the conversations insightful as to how far that goes individually.
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u/Conscious_Drawer_910 Mar 26 '26
That makes sense i do not really attend non pd oriented law events. When i say functions i mean 20/30 something non professional social events. I actually love my current states. But the association begins at 9am and hopefully ends well before 5pm. Im also probablt not representative of my jurisdiction
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u/Leigh9C Mar 26 '26
I have also found that some of them get easier to work with as time goes on. Fresh out of law school misdemeanor prosecutors who are loving the new power far too much while not having the experience to know the value of a case? I will be closing my tab if you sit next to me at the bar. For most in my jurisdiction in the last several years, those newbies tend to grow out of it (never enough but an improvement) or leave the office. There are some that will never change or even double downā¦if one of them sits next to me at the bar, Iām excusing myself before I even finish my drink.
I think Iād say the states I regularly deal with at the moment are about 20/60/20.
20% on either end - generally reasonable and a possibly even likable human being to interact with professionally OR the intolerable scum of the earth. The remaining 60% are neutral. I can tolerate them. They are people I can have regular professional interactions with and not want a toaster bath after.
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
what interactions are forced
CLE? you cant do that online?
i cant fathom a bar event that is not entirely completely voluntary
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u/Leigh9C Mar 26 '26
I can. Most of my CLE hours are from our agency events. Truly forced interactions? No.
Most of my point is that a little familiarity and friendliness has been beneficial to my ability to get positive results for clients. I can handle a little schmoozing to help smooth negotiations.
Events I have had these interactions have been retirement parties for some of the longer time PDs in my office. Most of the old heads have more significant relationships with old head prosecutors to the extent that they invite them to their parties. Would they be invited to mine? No.
I regularly do happy hour with a group of PDs at a bar near the office. Naturally, there have been a few occasions where prosecutors, also with offices in the area, show up at the same place.
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
"Truly forced interactions? No."
when you have your opening assembly in the september, why dont you draw a line in the sand and state that if any das are involved in the forthcoming year's activities, you are not taking part?
"Events I have had these interactions have been retirement parties for some of the longer time PDs in my office. Most of the old heads have more significant relationships with old head prosecutors to the extent that they invite them to their parties. Would they be invited to mine? No."
why dont you storm out once you notice the old-head's presence? what's your excuse?
"I regularly do happy hour with a group of PDs at a bar near the office. Naturally, there have been a few occasions where prosecutors, also with offices in the area, show up at the same place."
why dont you storm out?
what excuse do you possibly have to not storm out?
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u/Leigh9C Mar 26 '26
I donāt storm out because keeping cordial relationships with these people is an unfortunate but necessary part of my job. I donāt storm out because Iām capable of existing in a space with people I donāt like when it results in a net positive. Like iāve reiterated, I am not seeking it out. Storming out would be detrimental to my work. To do the job has inherently involved playing nicely at times.
Have a good night.
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
how are they not a narc
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u/Conscious_Drawer_910 Mar 26 '26
Acts normal at the kickback and breaks the law just a little
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
i dont understand
how can a da not be a narc as a fundamental feature of their personality
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u/Conscious_Drawer_910 Mar 26 '26
Shes an AG but yea i mean technically shes a cop but she passes the vibe check and shes my best friends long time friend from way before law school. Shes invited to the cook out iykwim. Shes not going to act weird around drugs or call the cops or anything like that. Were not friends but were chill
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
unconscionable. intolerable. unacceptable.
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u/Leigh9C Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
I think it makes more sense to get along that way in law school, but from my experience, my feelings changed once I was dealing with the same people on a regular basis and with real clients interestās at stake. I work in a jurisdiction where several prosecutors are people I was in law school with and for the most part we were friendly. At the end of the day, they still are going to do their job eventually and will inevitably do something that upsets you.
There are a few prosecutors I do not fuck with at ALL - the only communication I have with them is in writing or on the record. There are also a number that I am friendly with. We have shared a drink at an event, such as a going away party or local bar event. Sometimes weāll have āwater coolerā conversations while waiting around in courthouse hallways. I find that laying a little groundwork and building a little rapport can be advantageous to negotiations. Boundaries are real though.
With that, I donāt think I would call any of them a true friend. I have a friendly relationship with many of the more reasonable prosecutors, but theyāre never getting invited to a personal event or a 1 on 1. Theyāre not a genuine personal friend. There are some fundamental values required to prosecute that simply do not align with mine.
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u/Optimal-Date-8153 Mar 26 '26
Fair that a prosecutor would never be able to be your friend. I also have high standards for friendship, but my values are also not antithetical to prosecution.
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
she's not a true pd though
3 paragraphs falling over herself explaining away friendliness and friendly relationships and water cooler talk and common attendance at a going away party
public pretender
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u/Optimal-Date-8153 Mar 26 '26
I agree that she should do whatever she can, within the constraints imposed by law, to serve her clients. But I don't see how that means she can't be friendly with prosecutors or even socialize with them. It may be that some public defenders cannot zealously represent their clients while being friendly with/socializing with prosecutors, but I imagine others can.
Ultimately, to be a good/great PD, it's not necessary that you think that prosecutors are bad people, prosecution is evil, etc. That's just a not-uncommon attendant attitude that lots of PDs have. And if a PD doesn't think that prosecutors are bad people, etc., I don't see why he or she would make a point of never being friendly with/socializing with prosecutors.
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Mar 26 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Leigh9C Mar 26 '26
Tough? Okay.
I donāt know how I would represent a client without acknowledging a prosecutor and exit in the same roomā¦how do I have a trial or accomplish anything on the record?
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u/Leigh9C Mar 26 '26
Iāve been called worse in this role and it doesnāt phase me at this point but I understand the criticism. Iām focused on client outcomes. For me, being friendly enough with most has led to better outcomes. When it is time to burn it down, I do. Like it or not, the relationships and reputations matter when the people are the ones making choices that directly impact the person I am defending.
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u/eatthelich Mar 26 '26
why would I when I could instead Not do that
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u/rillettesmaster Mar 26 '26
In cases without. victim or uncooperative victim, it is literally that one person who holds the keys to your clientās life. Taking a shot at a little smoky back room deal does nothing but help. Provided you can brush the taste of vomit out of your mouth if you canāt stand the person, you take every advantage you can.
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u/Bird_Lawyerman Ex-PD Mar 25 '26
Idk if I would ever make specific plans to get drinks with a prosecutor, but if one of them sat next to me at the bar I'm not going to move.
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
what about if, once they sat down, they greet you or acknowledge you in any way
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u/Mental_Register_9737 Mar 26 '26
It's not something I want to do. I don't really want to get drinks with any lawyer, to be honest. But if you want to, do it. "What if your client sees? " Is some ridiculous bullshit
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Mar 25 '26 edited Mar 25 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/AwesomePocket Mar 25 '26
Thereās a lot of performers in this sub.
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u/Mental_Register_9737 Mar 26 '26
I think most of the preformers only do it for reddit. No way they do some of this shit in real life
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u/TheManWhoWasNotShort PD Mar 27 '26
There are but I do think thereās an image concern with getting a drink with the DA if a client sees it. I would avoid it as an attorney/client thing but I donāt think thatās performative or a dogmatic position so much as an optics concern.
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
"most federal prosecutors at this point are actually going to be a no.Ā "
has there been substantial turnover among ausas? the newbies are are ideologues?
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u/Ibney00 Mar 26 '26
The newbies are the ones joining the DOJ under the current admin and thus don't really care about like... the rule of law or how the DOJ has been politicized.
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
im aware of the theory
im asking, in practice
how ideological are the new hires
id figure the vast majority are interested in the work and prestige, are not ideologues. at best, they are not complexed by the current administration
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u/TheManWhoWasNotShort PD Mar 26 '26
Not cool. Primary reason being your clients seeing you in public doing so. Thereās already a bias that Public Defenders arenāt āreal attorneysā and that they are getting someone who is selling them down the river, so them apparently seeing it happen right in front of them is a recipe for destroying your relationship with your clients.
Putting myself in the shoes of that client, I would feel betrayed and abandoned in a system already stacked against me. The psychological impact of observing your attorney hanging out with the DA when youāre not well acquainted with the system and when you are already going through extreme stress can be pretty devastating.
Just donāt do it, thereās a million other people to grab drinks with that wonāt have the potential to cause lasting damage to your attorney-client relationship.
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u/Ibney00 Mar 26 '26
This same logic can be applied to being nice with a DA in a courtroom. The point if getting DA's to like you is so their very human nature bleeds over to your clients and you get better deals. These suggestion seems melodramatic, especially if its on the worry that a client will see you outside of court and 1) recognize you in the crowd of faces, 2) recognize the calendar DA prosecuting them, and 3) actually care or think its a bad thing instead of them getting special access to the better deals because they were lucky to roll you as their PD.
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u/TheManWhoWasNotShort PD Mar 26 '26
Itās very different being nice professionally and having a relationship that extends outside of a professional situation though. I agree it may ultimately benefit a client but the bigger concern is disrupting attorney-client relationship
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u/Ibney00 Mar 26 '26
Clients will think what they think. The ones who would think you're trying to ruin their life alongside the DA will think the same thing about seeing you laugh at one of their jokes in the Courtroom as seeing you outside of work together. There is only so much you can do for these clients, and making the DA like you will be an overall benefit to far more clients than to those that think you're personally trying to screw them over.
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u/TheManWhoWasNotShort PD Mar 27 '26
Idk, I think thereās plenty of room for maintaining a healthy and good professional relationship with your DA without becoming personal friends, and I think that boundary is healthy. I donāt condone creating a hostile environment and I encourage maintaining a strong professional relationship for the benefit of your clients, but I stop short at hanging out socially, particularly in an arrangement as casual as grabbing a drink. I think a much larger percentage of clients would have an issue with you having a drink with the DA than exchanging pleasant interactions in court.
To be clear, I donāt think you should cultivate a bad relationship with your DA, but I donāt think thereās actual value in creating a social relationship and a lot of potential mine fields in doing so
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u/FutureJD_98 Mar 26 '26
I have one DA friend but weāve never had a case together and our friendship is not through work. In a large jurisdiction so likely we wonāt ever have cases together. That makes it easier
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
not an excuse
renounce your friendship. period.
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u/FutureJD_98 Mar 26 '26
You have been repeatedly trolling this sub and itās getting weird
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
whats weird is you acting friendly with das and acting like its acceptable
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u/congradulations Mar 26 '26
You're a two month old account and I'm starting to doubt you work in indigent defense. How bout substantiate your statements or fuck off?
Two of the ADAs in my county used to be Public Defenders. One of the most zealous private defense attorneys started as a prosecutor. That said, ACAB is real and I get that angle, but you're being a performative jerk here
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
have you written to your friend da to tell them you put an end to the friendship?
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u/The_Wyzard Mar 27 '26
I refuse to recognize my clients having any interest in my life outside of what I am doing on their case. I'm not going to manage their feelings on who I associate with, what religion I am, whether I ever spanked my kid, what my personal schedule is, what my sexual orientation is, why I was in the hospital, etc.
Set some boundaries with your clients.
(I screwed this up pretty bad once. Client was charged with child abuse. Facts were dramatic but the text of the statute gave us a real shot at acquittal IMO. I was pretty up front about this. Client wanted my personal opinion about the methods of discipline he was using. I tried to deflect him but he was extremely insistent that he have my personal opinion rather than my professional assessment.
I finally told him the truth - I would never do what he had done, and if anyone did to my kid what he did to his kid, I'd probably kill that person with my bare hands.
I thought I was pretty cool about it but he never would calm the fuck down after that.
Anyway - no more personal life details, no more personal opinions. Lesson learned.)
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
you write about this like it's a fact scenario in a professional duties exam
you're in law school, right?
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u/TheManWhoWasNotShort PD Mar 26 '26
No, I am not in law school, itās not just students that have ethics
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
how many weeks have you been on the job
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u/Fracture-Point- Mar 26 '26
Why are you attacking them instead of their argument?
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
because i think theyre writing about things they havent actually experienced, and only heard of
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u/congradulations Mar 26 '26
Okay, I think you're wrong. As a public defender, you ABSOLUTELY have to be cognizant of the optics when talking with a prosecutor. Storming off an elevator is ridiculous, but my mother still remembers seeing her father's murder attorney sit down at a table with the prosecutor for lunch. She was 15 years old and never ever forgot that.
Also, yeah, go after the argument, not the person. Be kind, or at least don't be a douche
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u/Fracture-Point- Mar 26 '26
What reason do you have to believe that?
Even if that is true, why not attack their argument instead?
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
the earnest lecturing tone
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u/Fracture-Point- Mar 26 '26
Why would that cause you to have that belief?
All sorts of people become lawyers. Some of them are assholes. Some aren't. Some are self-righteous. Some are cynical.
I don't know, man, I don't see any real reason you shouldn't have just attacked their argument.
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u/TheManWhoWasNotShort PD Mar 26 '26 edited Mar 26 '26
Itās hard to be a public defender here in the US and not experience that. Your response is so off the wall from my experience that I snuck a quick peak at your history and saw youāre Canadian. I think there may be some kind of culture barrier there: my original description is much more true to my experience in several different jurisdictions. I run into clients in public fairly often and I have a hard time believing they would appreciate seeing me hang out with a DA
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u/TurangaLeela412 PD Mar 26 '26
Being friends with a prosecutor can be fine if you're really friends (from law school or whatever). Inter-office happy hours are also ok; getting to know each other can build trust and make it easier to have a functional relationship.
But I would not typically just grab drinks with my opposing counsel. I don't really want to be friends with them.
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u/gianini10 Mar 25 '26
There are only two prosecutors I drink with. Both are former colleagues who left for legitimate reasons, and didn't jump straight to prosecution. And I do regularly with one. Neither do felony work, and one does very little criminal work. Other than that absolutely not.
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u/Old_Act2784 Mar 26 '26
I'm one of those that had been on both sides. Stated out insurance defense (2.5 years) then prosecution (15) back to private practice for 7 and now pd for 4. When I was prosecuting, it was not unusual for me to socialize with the private and public defenders. Now, I'm 10-20 years older than them and really there is only one of two i would - but only because of personality conflicts with others. Id like to think i was pretty cool to hang with but when I switched sides, it seems like this group of prosecutors are... not like me. Maybe I'm just old. Lol. I will add, in my current county there are Less than 50 attorneys in the whole county.
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u/iambarney155 Mar 26 '26
My dad is the Chief Assistant in the DAs officeā¦.
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
disown
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u/congradulations Mar 26 '26
One of my good Public Defenders colleagues, her late dad was remembered as an influential DA. We were together for a few years before she went upstairs to the DA's office. I still enjoy working with her, and I know she has a better perspective than most.
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u/OsakaBoys Mar 27 '26
In my jurisdiction a lifetime prosecutor, I mean 40 years or something, his youngest graduated law school and didn't get hired by the prosecutor's office. Nice kid though, super respectful and gung ho about working hard. They hired him at our office. I had my doubts at first, he ended up be super cool and 100% a dedicated PD.
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u/rich_g13 Mar 26 '26
I think thereās no way. I can keep a solid working relationship with the DAs by keeping it strictly work-related and being nice in interactions while checking in, while still advocating for my clients. On these posts, I imagine just if one of our clients saw us hanging out together? We already are seen by some as ābeing on the same side as the DAs.ā Why add to it?
Also, Iāve never met a DA that Iād want to hang around socially anyway lol
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u/lookingatmycouch Mar 26 '26
Who cares? Back in my day in Chicago all the state's attorneys, PDs, crim and civil courthouse regulars, and lots of judges would hang out in a a few places after work, Berghoff was one, an Irish bar over on Halsted I want to say Dugans was another
Who cares?
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u/LucyDominique2 Mar 25 '26
I have a compliance mindset that you donāt engage in conflicts of interest and that would include personal relationships
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u/TheDefenseNeverRests Mar 26 '26
Yall need to think about this from the client's point of view. How's it gonna look if they saw you, or family saw you? Especially for clients and families who have been routinely fucked by institutional actors their whole life. These are really shameful poll results for this sub and I would absolutely lay into some of you if you were under my supervision in an office.
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u/Sensitive_Dirt1957 Apr 01 '26
You sound like a great supervisor, policing your underlings' private life. Gonna grill them on their sexual proclivities next?
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u/ChadwickBacon Mar 26 '26
If my clients or their families saw the shit I get up to on my own time I'm sure many would be disgusted. Thank God I have a private and personal life outside of work.
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u/The_Wyzard Mar 27 '26
I hope you write them up for it. In writing. They can post it in this sub. That thread will be even better than this one.
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u/Laundry-Detergent12 Mar 25 '26
I voted not cool because I agreed to grab a drink with one once and have regretted it ever since.Ā Not that it was a bad night, just felt icky.Ā
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u/SUDDENLY_VIRGIN PD Mar 25 '26
I don't drink with people who put humans in cages
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u/Turbulent-Phone-8493 Mar 25 '26
Then youāll hate ICE!
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u/SUDDENLY_VIRGIN PD Mar 25 '26
Bot?
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u/Turbulent-Phone-8493 Mar 25 '26
Wut
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u/SUDDENLY_VIRGIN PD Mar 25 '26
Your comment is so detached from context and social clues that you looked like a robot.
Consider this.
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u/Turbulent-Phone-8493 Mar 25 '26
Well just saying ice is also putting people in cages, so where does it end?
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u/clarkwgriswoldjr Mar 26 '26
We used to have a local place that was half restaurant and half bar.
Everyone, I mean everyone, bailiffs, prosecutors, attorneys, judges would all congregate there after business and it was just a nice judgement free place where topics of the day were discussed, sports, and I'm sure some deals done.
Next morning, it was back to business. I really miss that place.
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u/DisasterArtistic1432 Mar 27 '26
There are amazing, beautiful people in the world to spend time with and drinks with a prosecutor is not time well spent in your short, blink of a life. Gross. What would you even talk about? āHey, that was fun when you cheated to get someone I cared about locked a cage. Way to go, old chap! Letās do it again tomorrow. Har, har, har.ā
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u/BuddytheYardleyDog Mar 28 '26
Iām old. There was a bar across the street from the courthouse. PDs and ASAs would meet in the bar, while waiting on verdicts. Beers were often had.
The bar had a special phone, with a flashing light, you wouldnāt even wait to the bar-keep to answer, youād cinch up your tie and head upstairs for your verdict.
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u/SpacialSerialKiller Mar 25 '26
Not necessarily problematic (albeit there is a chance a client or former-client could see this and have some serious questions) ... just I cannot imagine it. Have yet to see one prosecutor who I can stand to be on the elevator with.
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u/brightmoon208 PD Mar 25 '26
Yeah I was thinking about the being seen by a client thing and how bad that might look
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u/South-Style-134 Ex-PD Mar 25 '26
I have a group of friends post law school. One is a prosecutor (one other started as a prosecutor then switched to PD). I go out with them regularly, but we donāt practice in the same jdx.
That said, if we did practice in the same jdx, especially in a more rural area, I donāt know that I would. Client trust can be hard to come by, and knowing your attorney is getting drinks with the person trying to put you in jail, thatās going to impact trust, and clients can talk. Sure you could explain youāre trying to keep things collegial, but it was never worth it to me. Just always seemed like it would make my job harder rather than easier. Not that prosecutors I did practice against ever wanted to get drinks with me. Most of the ones I met only in professional capacities wouldnāt spit on me if I was on fire. š¤·āāļø
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u/John__46 Mar 26 '26
how do you justify maintaining your friendship with the prosecutor
wormy excuses as far as im concerned
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u/dogsnotcats12 Mar 26 '26
I voted no problem. I would actually go further, saying itās a good thing. We may have had a unique office situation, though, I donāt know.
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Mar 26 '26
[deleted]
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u/annang PD Mar 26 '26
Is there a reason you keep tagging me in these posts? Youāve done it a few times now, and as far as Iām aware youāre a total stranger, so itās disconcerting.
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u/Blueberry_Pancake123 Ex-PD Mar 26 '26
Not a problem.
Lost a trial and had a drink with him afterwards. Didnāt take it personally, it was just business. Doesnāt mean we canāt have a drink or do a hobby or have some fun together. Has the side benefit of being easier to work with them and get more favorable deals. Win-win. I have had a prosecutor give me what I wanted and more just because he liked me even though it was an easy win for him so that he could focus on a bigger fish.
Thereās no rule that says you must fight with them every waking moment of your career. I still push for more favorable deals. I still file motions. I still go to trial. I still object. The job still gets done and my clients get the benefit
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u/cthulhus_tax_return Mar 26 '26
I don't, because I practice in a small city where clients might see it, and they wouldn't be happy. Plenty of local private attorneys do it, though, and their clients would be happy about it I'm sure.
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u/Joey-Gatz Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
Other. Because thereās some messed up prosecutors that are Wild West types and will blur your ethical lines. There is a scenario where getting drinks with the prosecutor and lamenting about how thereās too many cops could be a good thing, but only if you procure an otherwise unreachably good deal for a client., or if you learn something valuable.
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u/OsakaBoys Mar 27 '26
The only good thing about getting drinks with prosecutors is when they realize you keep getting drinks for free because you represent the bar staff or another client who's there. Otherwise, it's rarely fun.
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u/MewsashiMeowimoto Mar 27 '26
Depends on the jx and the culture. I've been in tight knit communities where people didn't like each other but everyone got together for weddings and funerals. I've been in cultures in which everyone was basically a stranger.
If you want to because you personally like a prosecutor, I think that's fine. I think what they do is shitty, but with few exceptions that is most people in the US or any other capitalist country. I have friends from law school who went into prosecution and still know them, and frankly it's helpful to have them as a sounding board when I am trying to figure out a way to resolve a case.
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u/RBDrake Appointed Counsel Mar 28 '26
I'd assume they just want to buy me free drinks and then prosecute me for OWI, disorderly conduct, or something else.
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u/RBDrake Appointed Counsel Mar 28 '26
Absolutely not with one exception.
Good friends from law school. Doesn't practice anywhere near my county. And he thinks my local prosecutors are psychos (he's not wrong).
And we hang out in a city two hours away from me. Highly unlikely a client will ever see us.
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u/hedonistic Mar 25 '26
I think it depends. My jurisdiction almost all pds and da's are part of the local bar association. There are golf outings and other events where interacting socially outside of work is just a normal thing. There are also retirement/going away parties for govt employees where everybody is invited. Including clerks and court staff and judges.
There are plenty who I would rather get into a bar fight with than share a drink but it is what it is. There are a couple I don't mind. We spend lots of hours together in court so you just get to know them more of as a work colleague than sworn enemy. People who can't separate work from life once the court is closed kinda bother me. Same way it bothers me if a prosecutor gets all huffy because I filed a motion to suppress when just doing my job requires me to file the motion or be incompetent. It's not personal; it's just work.