Who can drop a criminal charge?

Question

Is it the district attorney or the alleged victim? Like if the alleged victim wanted to drop the charges, is the decision made solely by the district attorney and his belief that a crime was probably committed? Can it be dropped if the alleged victim wants to?

Cale Plamann · Answer

Outside of domestic violence cases, the DA will usually drop a charge if the victim indicates that they do not want to go forward.  That said, the DA does have to drop the charge for it to get dismissed.

James Edward Smith · Answer

Only in civil cases can the victim drop the case.  Only the prosecutor can drop a criminal charge.

Stephen Freeborn · Answer

The decision is strictly that of the prosecutor/district attorney.  The defendant has been charged with a crime. 

The victim is exactly that... a victim/witness to the crime that was committed. 

If the witness/victim does not want to testify, the prosecutor could have a material witness warrant issued to bring the person in to testify.  

If the witness is not cooperative, it may make the case more difficult to prove, but that is for the district attorney/prosecutor to decide.

Gary Russell · Answer

The ultimate decision to proceed with a charge or to dismiss it lies with the prosecutor.  If the only evidence the prosecutor has is the complainant's testimony, then if the complainant will not cooperate, the prosecutor may be forced to dismiss the charge.  Of course the prosecutor can compel the complainant to appear in court to testify via subpoena power. Finally, certain offenses allow the prosecutor to proceed even if the complainant does not wish to.  Domestic violence is one such offense.

Gary Moore · Answer

Often the prosecutor will be guided by the victim's wishes. Call me if you like.

James Schoenberger · Answer

In WA it is the state. In some jurisdictions the victim can request charges be dropped.

Michael J. Breczinski · Answer

The Prosecutor is the person who can drop the charge. They often listen to the victim's wishes but they do not have to do so.

Steven Alpers · Answer

It is the DA who drops charges.

Stephen Richards · Answer

It depends upon many factors. One factor is if the case is a misdemeanor or a felony.

Jennifer Leigh Gottschalk · Answer

Decision not to prosecute is made by the prosecutor, but is often made in consultation with the victim.

Leonard A. Kaanta · Answer

The prosecutor is the only one to drop charges as all criminal charges are brought in the name of the People of the State of Michigan.

Brian Wanerman · Answer

Only the District Attorney can drop a charge or make a decision not to prosecute. If the alleged victim is reluctant to cooperate with the D.A. or testify at a trial, that might make the D.A.'s job more difficult. But, he is under no obligation to drop charges just because the alleged victim wants him to.

Francis Cowhig · Answer

Only the District Attorney can drop criminal charges.

Jared Altman · Answer

The DA.

Jeffrey Pollock · Answer

Both have a role, but the DA has no case without a witness/victim.   

But  the prosecuting party is the state, not the victim.

Gregory Casale · Answer

ONLY the District Attorney (actually the Assistant District Attorney, or ADA) who can drop charges. Once the defendant is charged, it is the Commonwealth v. Defendant, not Victim v. Defendant.

The ADA represents not only the victim, who has a personal interest in the outcome, but the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a whole, that has a community interest in keeping criminals off the street or making sure they are punished. 

This is the underlying theory and reason why a victim cannot dictate the dropping of charges such as Assault & Battery. However, that does not mean that if handled properly, a victim cannot greatly influence both the prosecution or the dismissal of the charges. 

The ADA will typically NOT dismiss just because the victim changes his or her mind, or even if the victim never wanted charges brought to begin with. Once the police are called, it is essentially out of the hands of the victim. 

If the police hear the elements of a charge, they have a mandate to bring that charge. Once the ADA gets the charge, it is their job to prosecute those charges. A good defense lawyer should be able to navigate through the Constitutional rights that all parties have to get the charges dropped, but it is not simple and not likely to happen without an attorney.

Timothy Klisz · Answer

Solely up to the prosecutor. They bring or drop all charges.

Terry Nelson · Answer

Once charges are filed by the DA, it is their decision to dismiss, settle or try the case.    

In general, if the victim recants and doesn't want to proceed, it will a judgment call by the DA whether to continue with a witness subpoenaed and compelled to testify.  

If you are hinting that this is a domestic violence case against you, it is the firm policy of the DA to vigorously prosecute, even over the tearful pleading of the victim for her abuser.  

The court system grew tired years ago of victims pleading to drop the charges, then being found beaten to a pulp later by the same abuser.

Mark Smith · Answer

Sometimes it can be dropped but if the crime is domestic violence it becomes much more difficult to drop the charges.

Stephen Hebert · Answer

In short, the decision to drop a charge is solely the District Attorney's decision to make.  

However, the District Attorney normally will take the alleged victim's wishes into account before making any decision.  

However, many District Attorneys have recently changed their policies to proceed with domestic violence charges, even when the alleged victim wants all charges dropped.

Andrea Rogers · Answer

Victim can drop charges, but the prosecutor can still decide to press  charges.

Larry Dunn · Answer

An alleged victim does not have the power to 'drop charges'. 

The district attorney has the power and discretion to dismiss certain charges under   certain conditions. 

If the charges involve domestic battery, there are certain legal restrictions, policies and conditions under which the district attorney will dismiss charges. 

The district attorney may consider the victim's desire to not prosecute the charges and the State's ability to prove the case, in deciding whether to dismiss the charges.

James Gandy · Answer

Only the district attorney can drop a criminal charge.  Though a district attorney may be influenced by the victim's choice to not wish to pursue the charge, the district attorney has complete control of the action.

Barbara A. Fontaine · Answer

Sometimes the victim wants to drop a charge, but if there was a crime committed, the district attorney may want to prosecute it anyhow. 

This is often true with domestic violence, especially if there was significant harm to the victim, who may either be afraid to press the charges or somehow believes that the other party " has found true love " and will not assault again.

James Osak · Answer

The DA (prosecutor) has the discretion.  You (victim) have NO say.

Anabelle Dias · Answer

The victim can request that charges be dropped. However the ultimate decision is with the state attorney's office.

Randall England · Answer

The crime victim has no power to drop a case. A crime victim pretty much makes their charging decision the moment they pick up the phone to call the police. After that, the matter is out of their hands.  In Missouri, it is the prosecuting attorney who has the power to prosecute charges or to dismiss them. Most prosecutors will listen to what the victim has to say about a case, but the victim has no power or control over whether the case is dismissed or not.

Gregory Crain · Answer

Prosecuting attorney.

Jeff Yeh · Answer

Absolutely the DA. The victim has no say. In fact, DA's are trained to deal with recanting witnesses, because people make up all the time. So no, it cannot be dropped based on what the victim wants.

Timothy Byrne · Answer

Ultimately it is the DA who will decide. Nevertheless, if the victim refuses to cooperate, it makes the case tough.

Russell Pietryga · Answer

At the end of the day it is the district attorney who decides to dismiss the case. However a victim usually has a strong influence on that decision.

Michael Morgan · Answer

The prosecutor would have to make a motion to dismiss.

David Ayer · Answer

In our criminal justice system, any crime is deemed to be an offense against society. As a result, the government has control of the case. 

The victim is considered a witness. Once a criminal complaint has been filed, it is solely the province of the office of the prosecutor to determine whether or not to go forward with charges. 

The victim's sole recourse is to recant testimony or refuse to testify. Depending on the amount of evidence the prosecutor has gathered, it may or may not make a difference. In many cases an uncooperative victim-witness will cause the case to be dropped, but it is tricky. 

It can bolster the prosecution's case if it appears the victim-witness has been intimidated. Any decision by a victim-witness to be uncooperative made for the benefit of the accused (and not due to a personal desire not to testify in court) should involve the accused's defense counsel.

Jon Buchholdt · Answer

The prosecutor and the court.

Nathaniel Shafer · Answer

It the district attorney's decision. Usually they take the victim's wishes into account so if you tell a district attorney you want to drop the charges, they may comply, but they do not have to do so.

Michael Edwards · Answer

The victim can give input, but the final decision on whether our not to proceed is up to the prosecutor.  It usually helps when the victim is cooperative.  The prosecutor then doesn't feel bad about giving the accused a break.  However,  the accused would still be wise to hire a good defense attorney!

Benjamin Gordon · Answer

Only the prosecuting attorney can decide to drop a criminal charge. They will often respect an alleged victim's wishes and requests to drop a charge, but not always.  

If the alleged victim refuses to appear and offer testimony, sometimes the prosecutor will have no option but to dismiss the case.  

This can have adverse consequences for the alleged victim, if they are subject to a subpoena.  

One exception to this is when the alleged victim is the spouse of the defendant.  In that case, the alleged victim can invoke the spousal privilege, which is an absolute protection from one spouse being compelled to testify against the other.

Eric Rothstein · Answer

Its up to the DA to decide whether to ask the Judge to dismiss.

Paul Stanko · Answer

All prosecutions are made in the name of the State of Indiana, and only the State of Indiana, through its prosecutors, determine whether charges will be dismissed before trial. As a practical matter, an uncooperative complaining witness (or alleged victim) will usually doom a prosecution to failure.

Darren Meyer · Answer

It is completely within the discretion of the prosecuting attorney.

Ann Fitz · Answer

Only the district attorney can drop a charge. However, if the victim wants to drop the charge, the district attorney will take that into consideration and may drop the charge if there are no other witnesses available to testify if the case goes to trial or the case is otherwise weakened. 

For example, if it is a domestic violence assault and battery and the only witness to your actions was the victim, and then the victim decides that he/she wants to drop the charge and stops cooperating with the district attorney, then the prosecutor will have a problem proving the case and may have no other choice but to drop the charge.

Aaron Black · Answer

The District Attorney holds all the power.  e #:

Jaime Cowan · Answer

Only the district attorney can drop charges regardless of what the victim wants.

Stuart Nachbar · Answer

While the victim has a right to not testify, and has a duty to assist with the Prosecution, it is actually the Prosecutor who decides if the case will or not be dropped.

Bruce Arthur Plesser · Answer

State attorney.

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