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In most European countries, the state prosecutor decides who to charge with a crime, regardless what purported victims think. It might be a bit foreign, but it
by mikl 7y ago
In most European countries, the state prosecutor decides who to charge with a crime, regardless what purported victims think.
It might be a bit foreign, but it does help with some cases, like partner violence, where the victim might not want to press charges against a violent partner. Under this model, if the police learns of the crime, they are obliged to prosecute it if possible.
- dominotw 7y ago> the state prosecutor decides who to charge with a crime, regardless what purported victims think. So state prosecutor can simply drop the charges if she feels like it? in usa people have the right to jury trial. Seems really unfair that prosecutor can unilaterally simply drop your case, wonder why its that way.
- whamlastxmas 7y agoIn the US, any alleged victims can sue in civil court, separate from any criminal charges
- favorited 7y agoThis is absolutely no different than in the US. A government prosecutor needs to press criminal charges. The accused has the right to a jury trial. An alleged victim has no such right.
- mikl 7y agoOk, maybe I’ve seen too many movies, but I had the impression that at least for some crimes (misdemeanors?) the victim can opt to not "press charges"?
- favorited 7y agoNope, though it is a common TV trope. In the US, there's a concept known as "prosecutorial discretion," and it refers to the fact that prosecutors have nearly absolute authority over what charges are brought. There are limits to this, but they are extremely rare. For example the Supreme Court has held repeatedly that a prosecutor can't base their decision on race or religion because it would violate the 5th Amendment.
- Gibbon1 7y agoYeah they can decide for any reason except prohibited reasons.
- SamReidHughes 7y agoThere is such a thing as a private prosecution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prosecution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prosecution
- mikl 7y agoI don’t know all the details of the Swedish system, but governments over here are generally much more centralised than you’re used to from the U.S. Prosecutors are generally not independent, but work for some arm of the justice ministry and as government officials are subject to abuse of power laws, so they can be punished for mishandling cases. That’s the theory, at least. In practise, it’s not always that transparent what’s going on.
- erikpukinskis 7y agoThat’s not true, in the U.S., the DA has complete authority to decide whether to file charges. You have no right to a trial until after you are charged. You can file a civil suit to get a judge to make declarations of fact in some cases, but I don’t believe there is any criminal equivalent of that.
- dominotw 7y agoyea. I was mistaken. thanks.
- erikpukinskis 7y agoSame is true in the U.S. as a victim you can decide whether to “press charges” i.e. file an official crime report. However it is only the District Attorney’s office that has the power to file criminal charges.