Do prosecutors have to much power?

Prosecutorial power is vast and unrestrained, and the mechanisms that purport to hold prosecutors accountable are weak and often totally ineffective. In addition, the most important prosecutorial decisions are made behind closed doors – away from public scrutiny and thus immune from public accountability.

What reasons might a prosecutor have to not pursue prosecution of a case select all that apply?

Below are five reasons why a prosecutor may decide to drop the criminal charges against you:

• Lack of Evidence. It’s not easy winning a criminal case.
• Lack of Resources.
• First Time Offender.
• Victim/Witness Do Not Come Forward.
• Willingness to Cooperate.

What advantages do prosecutors have?

Prosecutors have an advantage because they have unimpeded access to all evidence. After the prosecution has evaluated the information, they are supposed to send relevant evidence to send to the opposing attorney.

How do prosecutors abuse their power?

Prosecutors can break the law, engaging in prosecutorial misconduct, in four ways: Offering evidence that they know to be false or “inadmissible” in court. Keeping exculpatory evidence hidden from the defense, or “suppressing Brady evidence” Encouraging witnesses to lie on the stand, or “suborning perjury”

What is the goal of a prosecutor?

The prosecutor should seek to protect the innocent and convict the guilty, consider the interests of victims and witnesses, and respect the constitutional and legal rights of all persons, including suspects and defendants.

Why would a prosecutor want to go to trial?

The ability to resolve the case more quickly. Less expensive lawyer fees. Possibility of receiving a lighter sentence or having charges reduced. Avoiding the uncertainty of a trial in which a jury might have access to additional evidence to convict the defendant of even more severe crimes.

Why do prosecutors stack charges against innocent people?

This has become absolutely standard practice. The prosecutor will “stack” charges to build such a scary potential sentence, that even actually innocent people will be intimidated into pleading guilty, rather than face what’s called the “ trial penalty ” – that very scary long sentence if they should somehow be convicted at trial.

How does the Prosecutor decide what deal to offer?

Not surprisingly, the nature of the deal offered by the prosecutor will be driven by how strong a case he/she thinks they would have in court – the weaker the case, the better the deal. Let me also add that the prosecutor has no problem assembling a very long list of charges against you.

What happens if the defendant takes a plea deal?

If the defendant takes the deal, the prosecutor doesn’t have to take the case to trial, and possibly not even to a grand jury, both of which are a lot of work and require a lot of time on the part of the prosecutor. This has become absolutely standard practice.

What happens if you plead guilty to interfering with wildlife?

[Note: If someone else had helped you do this, there could also be conspiracy charges added.] Then the prosecutor says: “If you will plead guilty to one count of interfering with wildlife, we’ll see that you get 30 days in jail, with one year probation upon release, and a $500 fine.”