By District Attorney Ryan Sayers
2023 Vol. 24
This week we continue the discussion about prosecutorial discretion and explain why it is a basic tenant of our criminal justice system.
There are two questions that are regularly asked of me and the answer to both help illustrate the reasoning for prosecutorial discretion — “why don’t you charge someone and see what happens?” and “why did _______ get the plea offer that he/she did?” We will deal with the first question this week and the second question next week.
The district attorney and every prosecutor have a moral and ethical obligation to the Constitution, the law and the people that we serve.
As such we have to be good stewards of the resources that are entrusted to us in the criminal justice system, and our duty is to seek justice, not just convictions.
So, I ask you this, would it be just/fair for you to be charged with a crime and potentially have to sit in jail awaiting trial, if the police and prosecutor know that there is no chance of a guilty verdict? The answer to that question is clearly “no.”
When our forefathers wrote the Constitutions of the United States and Pennsylvania, they specifically were trying to avoid issues like that because those kinds of prosecutions did occur under British rule.
Prior to the founding of our country, prosecutions were known to be behind closed doors and evidence was either lacking or fabricated in order to get a conviction against an enemy of the crown or other political figures.
To protect against this, in the United States, criminal proceedings are open to the public, evidence is to be examined by the defense and jury, and prosecutors are vetted by the public through the election or confirmation process to help ensure integrity in the system.
In going back to the original question, prosecutors have to review evidence presented by law enforcement and have to decide if sufficient facts exist to support criminal charges against a person(s).
If it is determined that there is not enough evidence, then prosecution has to be declined. In other words, prosecutorial discretion exists as a gatekeeper and sometimes a prosecutor has to stop cases from coming into the system due to lack of necessary evidence.
Next week, I will discuss the answer to that second question and help further explain this idea of prosecutorial discretion in our criminal justice system.
Ryan Sayers is the elected District Attorney of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.
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