4 ms·

Is this not universal in US? If police on scene don't file charges or arrest anyone, it's a "race to the court house" with the first person to file having prior

Is this not universal in US? If police on scene don't file charges or arrest anyone, it's a "race to the court house" with the first person to file having priority. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_to_the_courthouse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_to_the_courthouse

ceejayoz 7y ago
Not only is it "not universal", it's vanishingly uncommon. A small handful of states permit "private prosecution" of crimes, with very significant limitations. It certainly can't be used to shut down the victim in the fashion you describe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prosecution#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prosecution#United_Sta... The "race to the courthouse" article you linked doesn't even specify which country it applies to, and cites zero sources. It appears to refer to https://definitions.uslegal.com/r/race-to-the-courthouse/ https://definitions.uslegal.com/r/race-to-the-courthouse/, which isn't about criminal prosecutions at all. It's about certain civil law situations.
- thatcat 7y ago
  Yea INAL, but the race to the court house was the way a lawyer explained it to me. This is in fact how it works in TN. It's not a private prosecution, it's public. https://www.marylandcriminalattorneyblog.com/carroll_county_maryland_assaul/ https://www.marylandcriminalattorneyblog.com/carroll_county_... "This is because without a weapon or serious injury the only crime would that could be charged is second degree assault which is a misdemeanor in Maryland. The police can only arrest in misdemeanor cases if they actually witness the events. Otherwise, the police are supposed to simply write a report and advise the combatants as to the procedures for filing charges against one another. " Re: here because out of reply subthreads: I'm not mixing the two up. I called the police after having my jaw broken in a one sided assault and filed a report. The assailant went to the court house and filed charges officially and one week later I was charged with assault. This was leveraged by the public prosecutor to prevent me from filing civil and criminal charges against the assailant as terms for myself not being prosecuted or subject to a trial by jury. The only people who seem to be aware of this situation are lawyers and law-savvy repeated violent offenders who use it to escape prosecution.
  - ceejayoz 7y ago
    The link you cite is for Maryland, which is one of the few states to permit private prosecution. As is common, it comes with limitations: https://www.enlawyers.com/1836/attorney-information/maryland-victims-rights-lawyer/ https://www.enlawyers.com/1836/attorney-information/maryland... > In most counties prosecutors review the charges before they are formally filed. I can't find any indication TN permits these sorts of private prosecutions. I suspect you're mixing up filing charges with making a complaint or police report. Being the first to reach out to police/prosecutors may count in your favor (credibility-wise, not on a raw legal level) as the alleged assailant filing their own complaint afterwards looks more like retaliation for fairly obvious reasons.

ceejayoz 7y ago

Not only is it "not universal", it's vanishingly uncommon. A small handful of states permit "private prosecution" of crimes, with very significant limitations. It certainly can't be used to shut down the victim in the fashion you describe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prosecution#United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prosecution#United_Sta... The "race to the courthouse" article you linked doesn't even specify which country it applies to, and cites zero sources. It appears to refer to https://definitions.uslegal.com/r/race-to-the-courthouse/ https://definitions.uslegal.com/r/race-to-the-courthouse/, which isn't about criminal prosecutions at all. It's about certain civil law situations.

thatcat 7y ago
Yea INAL, but the race to the court house was the way a lawyer explained it to me. This is in fact how it works in TN. It's not a private prosecution, it's public. https://www.marylandcriminalattorneyblog.com/carroll_county_maryland_assaul/ https://www.marylandcriminalattorneyblog.com/carroll_county_... "This is because without a weapon or serious injury the only crime would that could be charged is second degree assault which is a misdemeanor in Maryland. The police can only arrest in misdemeanor cases if they actually witness the events. Otherwise, the police are supposed to simply write a report and advise the combatants as to the procedures for filing charges against one another. " Re: here because out of reply subthreads: I'm not mixing the two up. I called the police after having my jaw broken in a one sided assault and filed a report. The assailant went to the court house and filed charges officially and one week later I was charged with assault. This was leveraged by the public prosecutor to prevent me from filing civil and criminal charges against the assailant as terms for myself not being prosecuted or subject to a trial by jury. The only people who seem to be aware of this situation are lawyers and law-savvy repeated violent offenders who use it to escape prosecution.
- ceejayoz 7y ago
  The link you cite is for Maryland, which is one of the few states to permit private prosecution. As is common, it comes with limitations: https://www.enlawyers.com/1836/attorney-information/maryland-victims-rights-lawyer/ https://www.enlawyers.com/1836/attorney-information/maryland... > In most counties prosecutors review the charges before they are formally filed. I can't find any indication TN permits these sorts of private prosecutions. I suspect you're mixing up filing charges with making a complaint or police report. Being the first to reach out to police/prosecutors may count in your favor (credibility-wise, not on a raw legal level) as the alleged assailant filing their own complaint afterwards looks more like retaliation for fairly obvious reasons.