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A very worrying component of this: are they dropping the charges because they see this is ridiculous or because it's gotten media attention?
by gravypod 6y ago
A very worrying component of this: are they dropping the charges because they see this is ridiculous or because it's gotten media attention?
- amelius 6y agoDon't we have judges to simply dismiss absurd cases like this?
- jonnycomputer 6y agothe answer is, unfortunately, obvious. though, it could also be the case that prosecutors need an excuse to drop cases like this, and negative coverage in the media is a good one.
- lotsofpulp 6y ago> though, it could also be the case that prosecutors need an excuse to drop cases like this I don’t see why they would need an excuse. They have wide latitude on prosecutorial discretion: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/prosecutorial-discretion-leeway-prosecutors-decisions-criminal-charges.html https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/prosecutorial-discre...
- jonnycomputer 6y agoUnderstood. However, that was not what I meant. What I was thinking was in terms of the culture and how decisions like this might look to peers, supervisors, etc. I might guess that going easy on people might be looked down upon, and that the usual fear is being blamed for the person that could have been prosecuted, but wasn't, and then did something bad. "lenient prosecutors" vs "tough prosecutors"
- lotsofpulp 6y agoOh, yes, that’s a good point!
- DanBC 6y agoIt feels like they're dropping the charge because there's no reasonable prospect of a conviction. After twenty years all the employees, and records, for the video shop have gone. There's no evidence. This does make me wonder how many other similar cases are floating around.