3 ms·

There is another failure mode. The prosecutor can refuse to prosecute a guilty party. This can happen for several reasons. 1) corruption, don’t prosecute you

by mulmen 3y ago

There is another failure mode. The prosecutor can refuse to prosecute a guilty party. This can happen for several reasons. 1) corruption, don’t prosecute your friends. 2) ideology, the law or punishment are “unfair” or the defendant is “misunderstood” or “disadvantaged” according to the prosecutor. 3) politics, to advance their political careers prosecutors want an unblemished record of successful convictions. It is good that our system biases toward avoiding wrongful conviction but there’s no check that forces a party to “do their job.”

LeroyRaz 3y ago
You can have multiple prosecutors. E.g., if one does not want to prosecute (and so not get paid) then another will. While you can't ensure an individual does their job, market forces and competition can ensure the job gets done (by someone).
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codersfocus 3y ago
Prosecutors are relatively new. It used to be the right of citizens to petition a grand jury to indict. A few states still allow it.
AnthonyMouse 3y ago
> The prosecutor can refuse to prosecute a guilty party. But this is intended as one of the checks and balances. If the legislature passes an unjust law or one with unjust applications, the prosecutor can exercise their discretion and not enforce it, acting as a check on the tyranny of the majority. You could remove prosecutorial discretion and require prosecutors to proceed against anyone someone wants to file charges against (let the judge and jury sort it out), but now you're making a trade off against something else. Notice that this applies to any of the rest of it. Congress could refuse to pass a law that makes sense because their cronies benefit from the status quo etc. But the concern here is that the government has an unprecedented capacity to do harm because it exercises a monopoly on violence. If the prosecutor's buddy is a serial killer, you can still exercise your right to self-defense, or avoid being alone in public. If the prosecutor's buddy is allowing your company to not pay you for hours worked, you can sue them yourself, or quit. All while lobbying the government to replace the prosecutor. If you're falsely imprisoned by the government, what are you supposed to do?
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by mulmen 3y ago

LeroyRaz 3y ago

You can have multiple prosecutors. E.g., if one does not want to prosecute (and so not get paid) then another will. While you can't ensure an individual does their job, market forces and competition can ensure the job gets done (by someone).

deleted 3y ago
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codersfocus 3y ago

Prosecutors are relatively new. It used to be the right of citizens to petition a grand jury to indict. A few states still allow it.

AnthonyMouse 3y ago

> The prosecutor can refuse to prosecute a guilty party. But this is intended as one of the checks and balances. If the legislature passes an unjust law or one with unjust applications, the prosecutor can exercise their discretion and not enforce it, acting as a check on the tyranny of the majority. You could remove prosecutorial discretion and require prosecutors to proceed against anyone someone wants to file charges against (let the judge and jury sort it out), but now you're making a trade off against something else. Notice that this applies to any of the rest of it. Congress could refuse to pass a law that makes sense because their cronies benefit from the status quo etc. But the concern here is that the government has an unprecedented capacity to do harm because it exercises a monopoly on violence. If the prosecutor's buddy is a serial killer, you can still exercise your right to self-defense, or avoid being alone in public. If the prosecutor's buddy is allowing your company to not pay you for hours worked, you can sue them yourself, or quit. All while lobbying the government to replace the prosecutor. If you're falsely imprisoned by the government, what are you supposed to do?

deleted 3y ago
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