By District Attorney Ryan Sayers
2023 Vol. 23
Over the past few weeks, we have discussed some of the steps that law enforcement takes when investigating crimes.
At the conclusion of some of these investigations, the law enforcement officer will present the investigation to the district attorney to make a decision as to whether to file charges, and this begins our broader discussion into prosecutorial discretion.
By statute in Pennsylvania, the district attorney is the “chief law enforcement officer” for the county in which he or she is elected.
As such, the statutes, rules of criminal procedure and caselaw provide the district attorney with near absolute discretion on what cases and charges to prosecute in his or her county.
As we have discussed almost every week so far this year in these articles, the district attorney and the other prosecutors in the office constantly have to make decisions as to the best manner to handle a case in the interest of justice.
Usually, the prosecutor is provided all of the statements by the suspect, victim statements, pictures, videos, laboratory results, etc. to review after the preliminary hearing as part of the discovery process.
However, as stated before, sometimes law enforcement provides all of that prior to charges being filed because a decision needs to be made on how to proceed.
This is when the prosecutor will review all of the evidence, look at the applicable criminal statutes and consult with the investigating officer(s) to decide if charges should be filed, if an additional investigation needs to occur or if the case can be closed without charges.
Next week, I will discuss further this idea of prosecutorial discretion and explain why it is basic tenant of our criminal justice system.
Ryan Sayers is the elected District Attorney of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.
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