duties of the attorney-general are primarily civil in character. The following excerpt from the statement of duties in the Illinois statutes is typical:7 "First-Tq appear for and represent the people of the state before the supreme court . .. in all cases in …
Feb 09, 2009 · Why the Florida State’s Attorneys will prosecute cases even when the victim doesn’t want to “press charges” - Read the Domestic Violence legal blogs that have been posted ...
The Attorney General's Criminal Division investigates and prosecutes crime throughout the State. However, criminal cases which are local in effect are rarely prosecuted by the Attorney General. Such cases are more appropriately pursued by local officials and citizens are urged to bring such cases to their local police and county prosecutor.
Oct 24, 2019 · The state’s attorney’s office said that its alternative prosecution programs, where people are directed to community-based services and treatment, result in more people whose cases end up being dismissed. Alternative prosecution rose about 8 percent during the first two years of Foxx’s term, according to a July report.
Either a judge or a jury may decide the verdict on how well the State's Attorney proved the case. During the trial, the State's Attorney may make opening and closing statements, offer evidence, question witnesses and challenge the defense attorney's legal actions.
In general, State's Attorneys are elected by the people they represent. Their duties are spelled out in the laws of the local governments they represent, and they're held accountable by the voters for how well they do their jobs and how well their performance matches up with the local politics of the area. But a State's Attorney hardly ever does ...
First, police file a warrant or charging request with the State's Attorney following an investigation. Attorneys review the request and may decide to issue a warrant, which allows the police to arrest the suspect. An arraignment in court follows, at which the suspect is formally charged with a crime and enters a plea.
Criminal prosecutions are the chief duty of most State's Attorney offices. In many states, such as Michigan, criminal prosecutions follow a predetermined series of steps [source: Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan ]. First, police file a warrant or charging request with the State's Attorney following an investigation.
About half the 50 states use grand jury indictments in criminal prosecutions. Grand juries hear cases brought by State's Attorneys, and only the evidence and witnesses presented by the State's Attorney are considered.
Before a trial takes place, the process of discovery takes place, at which the State's Attorney and the defense attorney share information they intend to introduce as evidence at trial.
A State's Attorney, along with a phalanx of Assistant State's Attorneys, prosecutes criminal and civil cases for the people.
Successfully prosecuting a defendant for domestic violence means that the prosecutor must prove each element of the offense by the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.
A prosecutor will review any statements made by the defendant and victim. In some cases, a victim will make a verbal statement that is noted by police followed by a written one that will contain inconsistencies that an experienced defense attorney will exploit to challenge the veracity and credibility of the victim.
A prosecutor may also feel the evidence of a domestic battery is insufficient because the victim’s credibility is suspect 5.
What Is Willfulness? Willfulness is “…simply a purpose or willingness to commit the act… there is a defense for persons who commit the act through misfortune or by accident when it appears there was no evil design, intention or culpable negligence.”. 2.
Prosecutors need to make decisions regarding how to file or proceed with a case based on the evidence.
The traumatic condition was the natural and probable consequence of the injury
A major reason for dropping any criminal case is the insufficiency of the evidence.
Prosecutors’ first chance to decline to bring charges comes during a process called “felony review.”. This chart depicts felony arrests by police. These are arrests referred to prosecutors by police for felony charges. , which decreased since Foxx’s election.
We didn’t want to just compare the number of cases before and after Foxx’s election, because that would not account for any differences in crime in Cook County or the change in the number of arrests.
Felony arrests Felony charges. When Foxx began her term, shoplifting was the second most frequent offense in her office’s caseload. Today it’s dropped to eighth. While theft cases of smaller value items are still being prosecuted as misdemeanors.
When Foxx was campaigning for office, Alvarez was under fire for her handling of several high-profile police shootings in Chicago, most notably the killing of teenager Laquan McDonald.
In response to Foxx’s policies and the resulting lower prosecution rates, an association of suburban police chiefs and Chicago’s police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, issued a vote of no confidence in Foxx and demanded her resignation in April.
This is important to know if we want to quantify the footprint of the criminal justice system. Understanding the extent of the revolving door of individuals who are being arrested and charged only to have their cases dropped would be an important measure of reform. The state’s attorney’s office declined to release person-level data out of concern for personal privacy.
The state’s attorney promised to transform the office. Data shows she’s dismissed thousands of felonies that would have been pursued in the past.
A prosecutor will also consider the defendant's criminal record when deciding whether to continue with a domestic violence prosecution. The defendant's past becomes particularly relevant when the prior convictions are for domestic violence crimes, especially when the prosecutor believes that evidence of these past crimes can be brought to ...
The prosecutor makes that decision. And the prosecutor can prosecute the case even if the victim refuses to testify—the question that must be answered is whether they should.
However, many states have created exceptions to the spousal privilege when one spouse is being tried for committing a crime against the other (such as domestic violence cases). When this exception to the privilege exists, the prosecutor may compel the spouse to testify against the other.
Plea options. Even where the prosecutor decides not to dismiss the case, the defendant might receive a more favorable plea offer (such as reducing the charge in exchange for the defendant's guilty plea) than the prosecutor would offer if the victim was willing to testify at trial.
If you're a victim of domestic abuse, contact a lawyer or a victim's advocate to understand how the criminal process works and whether you could be required to testify. For more information, check out Nolo's Resources for Victims of Crime.
Talk to a Lawyer. If you have domestic violence charges pending against you, talk to a criminal defense lawyer. Your lawyer can help assess the strength of the case, give advice, and defend your rights. If you're a victim of domestic abuse, contact a lawyer or a victim's advocate to understand how the criminal process works ...
The prosecutor can file charges against the alleged abuser even if the victim recants or refuses to testify. In certain cases, the prosecutor could decide to subpoena the victim and compel them to testify—but having a terrified or hostile victim on the stand isn't always the best approach. And if the victim is a spouse, ...
The widespread misconduct involved a secret database of information about defendants being held in custody. This database was related to false testimony obtained by prison informants. The Sheriff's Office denied this database existed. This deception was further concealed by prosecutors while these cases went on for decades. Judge Goethals helped bring this to light, and recommended that the prosecutors be prosecuted.
Careers are made off of many wrongful convictions. Some of these same officers go on to be police commissioners. Some district attorneys go on to become judges in state and federal courts, and some become attorney generals. Innocent prisoners are the skeletons in their closets. If our stories were ever to get out, their careers--and those of many others--would come into question. It's sad, but egos also play an integral part. Most of the time, prosecutors are only concerned with winning cases to put more notches on their belts. Justice is rarely on their agendas.
The Prosecutor's Decision: Using the Police Report. Typically, prosecutors base their initial charging decisions on the documents sent to them by the arresting police officers (usually called police or arrest reports ).
Their charging decisions are often, therefore, affected by public opinion or important support groups. For example, a prosecutor may file charges on every shoplifting case, no matter how weak, to curry favor with local store owners who want to get the word out that shoplifters will be prosecuted. For similar reasons, a prosecutor may pursue otherwise weak prostitution charges to avoid alienating powerful civic groups. Deputy or assistant prosecutors may feel that appearing tough will help their careers, either within the prosecutor's office or later if they want to become judges.
Arrest and prosecution functions are separated primarily to protect citizens against the arbitrary exercise of police power. Police officers usually make arrests based only on whether they have good reason ( probable cause) to believe a crime has been committed. By contrast, prosecutors can file formal charges only if they believe that they can prove a suspect guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Prosecutors can file charges on all crimes for which the police arrested a suspect, can file charges that are more or less severe than the charges leveled by the police, or can decide not to file any charges at all. ( U.S. v. Batchelder, U.S. Sup. Ct. 1979.)
Arrest reports are almost always one-sided. They recite only what the police claim took place and may include only witness statements that support the police theory. While they are generally not admissible as evidence in a trial, arrest reports can have a major impact in criminal cases.
Experienced defense attorneys understand that prosecutors must sometimes be seen as taking a strong stand publicly, even though they may be willing to respond to weaknesses in individual cases at a later stage of the process. This is one of the reasons why practically every criminal defendant will benefit from the help of an experienced, local criminal defense attorney: Only those professionals know where the pressure points are and how to work around them (or with them).
Prosecution 101. At the federal level, the two parties to a criminal case are the United States and a defendant or defendants. At the state level, the state is represented by a prosecuting attorney who represents the people of the state. Regardless of whether the prosecutor is called the district attorney, the state’s attorney, or the commonwealth’s attorney, criminal cases pit the state against a defendant or defendants.
Since that time his contributions have continued. Unfortunately, the money can be difficult to trace because it is often funneled through a variety of entities. Local prosecutor races have seen an influx of money delivered through state-level super PACs and national “527” groups, which carry no caps on expenditures, as well as money funneled through local PACs and allied organizations.
In his first two years in office, Krasner dropped or lost 47 percent of all illegal firearms cases—a 42 percent higher rate than the last district attorney, Seth Williams. Krasner won convictions in 21 percent fewer cases. 128
They exist because George Soros and a handful of other billionaires have invested heavily in the election of district attorneys who are working to reverse engineer and dismantle a criminal justice system that , while not perfect , has resulted in the lowest crime and incarceration rates in decades.
Elected rogue district attorneys have not worked within the law to enhance public safety, protect victims’ rights, lower crime, and serve their community. They usurp the constitutional role of the legislative branch by refusing to prosecute entire categories of crime, abuse the role of the county prosecutor, fail to protect victims of crime, and ignore rising crime rates caused by their radical policies. They exist because George Soros and a handful of other billionaires have invested heavily in the election of district attorneys who are working to reverse engineer and dismantle a criminal justice system that, while not perfect, has resulted in the lowest crime and incarceration rates in decades.
Usurpation of legislative power by refusing to prosecute entire classes of crimes is dangerous. It violates the separation of powers between the executive branch and the legislative branch. In doing so, it distorts the entire legal system by disrupting the equipoise between separate but equal branches of government.
United States, 405 U.S. 150, 154 (1972) (holding that evidence affecting a witness’s credibility falls within the Brady Rule—essentially impeachment information). material that may be in the possession of the police.