Prosecutorial Power

Pop Quiz: Name the most powerful person in the criminal justice system: A. The Judge; B. The Jury; C. The Prosecutor.

Video Transcription

Male Speaker: You'll get arrested or there has been a complaint filed by another citizen that your conduct was criminal. And it goes through the process, and eventually it lands on the desk of a prosecutor. And the prosecutor is going to look at it. The prosecutor decides and there is not much here. The prosecutor may well dismiss it. Male Speaker: That judgment making ability, that discretion is very, very strong powerful tool for the prosecutor. Male Speaker: We use fancy Latin terms in the law because of the system we came from, we say nol-pros which really means a nolle prosequi which is nothing more than a dismissal of the charges. Male Speaker: The prosecutor in a given case has the discretion to decide whether that case should go forward. Male Speaker: The prosecutor has the power to decide what charges to bring, what charges not to bring. Male Speaker: He looks at the evidence, he looks at the potential defendants, the participants, the victims, the circumstances, and he makes a judgment on whether the case should go forward. Male Speaker: And as long as the prosecutor is not making that decision based on your race, your gender, your ethnicity, your religion, a prosecutor can do anything he or she wants. Male Speaker: You can protect yourself. Female Speaker: Because you want to avoid a lawsuit. Male Speaker: If you don't how the system works, you are not going to do as well.