Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan
Is it the duty of a prosecutor to uphold the law, if a law is in place and criminal charges can be filed?
1 Answer from Attorneys
A prosecutor's duty is to seek justice. In many instances, justice is better served by not bringing charges.
Remember that prosecutors have limited resources. There aren't enough of them to take every case that could be brought, just as there aren't enough courtrooms, judges, bailiffs, etc. to handle all of those cases. So prosecutors have to decide which cases to bring and which to let go. The cases they don't bring tend to involve minor offenses by people without serious records, as well as cases where the evidence is weak. Prosecutors may also decline to press charges when a case involves a relatively minor crime but would consume a lot of resources to pursue. There are a variety of other legitimate reasons not to prosecute someone who appears guilty of a crime.
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