>only the government (via prosecutors) can charge anyone with criminal offenses. That's almost universally true, but some states still do in fact have the righ

>only the government (via prosecutors) can charge anyone with criminal offenses. That's almost universally true, but some states still do in fact have the right of private prosecution. E.g. New Jersey allows you to swear out a criminal complaint directly to a magistrate, and there isn't a damn thing the police or a prosecutor can do about it. Private prosecutions used to be the norm. It's actually a very powerful force against police corruption, and I wish it hadn't gone away in so many states. Also, in cases like this, the prosecutors will generally defer to the desires of the victim, especially when the victim is one of the world's most powerful corporations.