50
votes
Can the President of the United States pardon proactively?
Yes.
The precedent is President Gerald Ford's pardon of his predecessor Richard Nixon in proclamation 4311 before any possible prosecution had started.
The pardon was granted specifically to prevent ...
- 4,034
45
votes
What happens to Donald Trump if he refuses to turn over his financial records?
According to this Washington Post story:
Vance is seeking the records from Trump’s longtime accounting firm, Mazars.
Thus Trump himself will not be able to refuse to provide the tax return ...
- 112k
34
votes
What legal recourse do citizens have when law enforcement refuse to address crimes for political reasons?
A lawsuit would be unsuccessful. Prosecutors have discretion to prioritize whichever offenses they think are most important, and they are generally immune from civil liability.
This is a political ...
- 54.1k
29
votes
What happens to Donald Trump if he refuses to turn over his financial records?
The recent SCOTUS ruling on the ability of the Manhattan DA's office to enforce their subpoena applies to the accounting firm Mazars (who has copies of the tax returns and acts as Trump's agent in ...
- 18.3k
28
votes
Can the President of the United States pardon proactively?
Questionable and Unsettled
First, I am not a lawyer, nor a constitutional scholar. but Ford's pardon of Nixon was never tested in court so there is no precedent here. Some would like to claim that the ...
- 449
22
votes
Accepted
What happens if a prosecutor refuses to file charges?
united-states
Bob could do any number of things to try to convince someone to prosecute Alice: call the prosecutor's boss, or the district attorney (or their equivalents in DOJ if it's a federal crime)...
- 10.2k
19
votes
Accepted
(Your unlawful act) "will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible under the law." For real?
How close is such a statement corresponding with the reality?
Legally, such language is a meaningless statement of future intent that at best makes clear that the person making the statement isn't ...
- 174k
18
votes
If you try to charge someone for something and it doesn't stick, can a less severe charge be made as a follow-up?
It depends on what you mean by "doesn't stick." If Mark is acquitted of murder in state court, he can't be tried again in state court for the same act of homicide. If the charges are ...
- 31.2k
14
votes
How do prosecutors prepare to cross-examine defendants?
I'd imagine that testimony from the defendant is rare enough that in the majority of cases, prosecutors do not meaningfully prepare for a cross examination.
To the extent they do, I'd expect the ...
- 54.1k
13
votes
Can a prosecutor hold back charges so they can try again?
united-states
For a particular sovereign in the United States, the criminal law test for this is from Blockburger v. United States (emphasis mine)
12
Each of the offenses created requires proof of a ...
- 4,449
12
votes
What legal recourse do citizens have when law enforcement refuse to address crimes for political reasons?
Almost every crime has a civil counterpart for the victim to sue for a judgement, and certainly any private property or personal violence related crime does. Victims of crimes can sue the perpetrator ...
- 4,449
12
votes
Accepted
Why prosecute Kyle Rittenhouse if there is no real chance of a guilty verdict?
The trial was held because A Kenosha County Court Commissioner ruled there is enough evidence for Kyle Rittenhouse to stand trial for homicide charges.
“All this court needs to find was that a felony ...
- 4,214
11
votes
What happens if a prosecutor refuses to file charges?
The other answers are all generally correct. I'll add just a few additional points.
But suppose Alice is a billionaire and she bribes the local prosecutor
to not prosecute. What happens next? ...
- 174k
9
votes
How do prosecutors prepare to cross-examine defendants?
I'm not familiar with criminal court procedure, but in a civil case the most common approach I've seen and used is:
Go through both sides' statements of case (whether or not that includes a defence) ...
- 6,395
8
votes
Why does it take so long to get a guilty verdict in obvious cases?
You've got four cases there with four different reasons for substantial delays:
In the case of the Aurora theater shooting, the shooter pled not guilty by reason of insanity.
There's no doubt about ...
- 5,772
7
votes
Accepted
What is the history of rules requiring prosecutors to disclose evidence?
In 1935, the Supreme Court held in Mooney v. Holohan that the prosecution lying about evidence betrays the duty of the prosecutor to seek justice. As such, any evidence that could be in the defense's ...
- 21.6k
7
votes
What happens if a prosecutor refuses to file charges?
Prosecutorial discretion is a thing, however, Bob still has some recourses. In the U.S. the Prosectors are typically elected at the state and local level, and where they are not, they are appointed ...
- 21.6k
7
votes
Is it possible that the prosecutor trying a case can become a witness of such case and be taken off it?
In every U.S. jurisdiction this is controlled by Rule of Professional Conduct 3.7 which is modeled on the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct, although the exact language is ...
- 174k
7
votes
Defendant's right to surprise prosecution at trial
Although there have long been requirements to disclose certain types of defenses -- alibi, insanity, etc. -- common law jurisdictions have more recently moved in the direction of greater disclosure ...
- 54.1k
7
votes
Accepted
Are DAs and other prosecutors prohibited from being defense attorneys, such as in a pro bono fashion?
Most prosecuting attorney positions in a District Attorney, or State Attorney General's office are full time salaries positions that prohibit individuals holding those positions from having any other ...
- 174k
7
votes
Accepted
What is the "public interest"?
The "public interest" from a charging perspective is not the same as public popularity. From the charging guide, prosecutors:
should consider each of the questions set out in paragraphs 4....
- 24k
7
votes
If you try to charge someone for something and it doesn't stick, can a less severe charge be made as a follow-up?
canada
Criminal Code, s. 662 provides that the accused is at jeopardy of all lesser included offences that are subsumed within the offence charged or as described in the count.
An offence is “...
- 24k
6
votes
Can a prosecutor hold back charges so they can try again?
new-zealand
This has been codified, and case law has provided some nuances. A great overview of it is given by Jeremy Finn and Don Mathias in "Criminal Procedure in New Zealand" which is ...
- 23.8k
6
votes
Accepted
Status of U.S. attorneys in US DOJ (2021)
The DoJ under the executive branch has attorneys, judges are under the independent judicial branch. US attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president, so in the worst case they can be fired and some ...
- 197k
6
votes
What happens if a prosecutor refuses to file charges?
In many countries, an individual has the right to raise a private prosecution if the public prosecutor decides not to pursue a case.
This is generally expensive, as with all things legal. The reason ...
- 2,212
5
votes
Accepted
Why was he put in prison but never got a criminal record?
He was jailed for breaching an injunction imposed on the Shard in 2018 which was intended to prevent anyone from climbing it, according to a news report from the Guardian at the time. The actual ...
- 3,732
5
votes
What happens if a prosecutor refuses to file charges?
In united-states this varies significantly by state, but I am at least familiar with provisions in pennsylvania law for judicial review of refusals to file criminal charges.
Pennsylvania Rule 506 ...
- 21.2k
5
votes
What happens if a prosecutor refuses to file charges?
The question reads:
I gather from the answer to the linked question that what happens in principle is that the police would investigate, and the local prosecutor would file charges against Alice.
...
- 112k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible