Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: malicious prosecution, Intentional Torts

A dismissal in the furtherance of justice doesn't really say much about why the prosecutor decided to drop the charges. It certainly does not mean that the prosecutor believes the defendant is innocent.

Making a police report is generally a privileged act and cannot form the basis of a lawsuit. If it could, people would be more reluctant to make police reports and many crimes would go unreported as a result.

Technically, a malicious prosecution action can only be brought against the government and can only succeed where the government knowingly prosecuted an innocent person. In order to win such a case, you would have to prove both that you were innocent and that the government knew it but started (or continued) a criminal case against you anyway.

There is a similar cause of action in the civil context, but it can only be brought by a person who has already won a civil lawsuit brought by the other party.