Dutton

"What the hell is going on with this department?"

- D.A. Dutton

District Attorney Dutton was an attorney who appeared in three episodes of the television series In the Heat of the Night.

Dutton was portrayed by

Dutton was the district attorney in the community of Sparta, Mississippi. He was an ambitious DA who was less interested in justice and in making a name for himself in political circles. When Sparta police officer Bubba Skinner was accused of rape by two women Dutton became determined to prove Skinner guilty of the crime, figuring that putting a cop in prison would increase his standing with the local black community, going so far as to interfere with the investigation into the rapes and to pull Bill Gillespie off the case. Virgil Tibbs was able to find the actual rapist - a local store owner. With the actual rapist in custody Dutton was pleased and felt he could boast to his friends at the Lions Club that he was putting a rapist behind bars.

"Hello, Mister District Attorney"

- Bubba Skinner, to Dutton

A few weeks later a drunk driver hit a car carrying several teenage girls. After an investigation authorities determined that Dutton was responsible for the accident and confronted him at a local bar.