ABSTRACT
When a case moves from booking to the courts, a prosecutor will evaluate the strength and legality of the evidence and decide to dismiss the case or charge the defendant based primarily on that assessment. The power to make this decision has a tremendous effect on the flow of cases through the courts and the lives of people accused of crime [1]. There is little oversight from the judge or anyone else outside of the prosecutor’s office [2]. The prosecutor continues the assessment as charges are specified and changed, which explains why charges will often change between initial appearance and arraignment. Based on prosecutorial assessment, the defendant may be denied bail and kept in pretrial detention. The prosecutor also retains the power of dismissal as the case moves through the pretrial stages, which explains why cases are dismissed sometimes as late as the beginning of the trial. Evidence will be reviewed repeatedly, substantive laws read, witnesses interviewed, the case vetted with other attorneys, experts and judges consulted, and hearings held.
