Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

low-priority meaning

what does it mean if a prosecutor says a current case is low priority for him?


Asked on 5/27/09, 12:37 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Neil O'Brien Eaton County Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney

Re: low-priority meaning

You should probably ask THAT prosecutor what he/she means.

One possible explanation could mean that, of all the cases on that prosecutor's upcoming daily court docket, or trial docket, your case has to "wait in line" to get attention because other cases are coming down the conveyor belt sooner/quicker.

Another possible explanation may be that (for example) that prosecutor is pressed for time to prepare for a Murder trial, so giving time to talk to you or do something on a Jaywalking ticket or Driving While License Suspended charge is just not as important in a practical sense.

Every defendant and every defense attorney wants/thinks that their one case is the Most Important Case In The World. But prosecutors have more than that one file to work on, and a limited number of hours in a day.

EVERY case is important to a prosecutor. But we all have to prioritize our lives, both at work and outside of work. Some cases are just a bigger priority because (a) they are scheduled tomorrow and not in a month; (b) are more serious crimes (murder vs DWLS); (c) take more preparation time (e.g., a complicated embezzlement case with 1,000 pages of paper trail evidence vs DWLS), etc. Same goes at home: mowing the lawn and pulling weeds may not be a priority today because the toilet is sink is clogged up. OK?

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Answered on 5/27/09, 2:58 pm


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