Director of Public Prosecutions

“ The attorney-general has always represented the crown in criminal matters, and in state prosecutions appears in person on behalf of the crown, and when he so appears has certain privileges as respects the reply to the prisoner’s defence and the mode of trial. In the Prosecution of Offences Acts of 1879, 1884 and 1908 there is to be found the nucleus of a system of public prosecution such as obtains in other countries in case of crime. ”

“ The alternate path which we take today leads to trial of separate essential parts of criminal prosecutions by commissions, by executive agencies, by legislative committees. Farming out pieces of trials to investigative agencies is fragmentizing the kind of trial the Constitution authorizes. It prejudices the ultimate trial itself ”

“ If the accused has no lawyer, the court must appoint one for him. While a man so appointed must defend the case, the best lawyers are not secured in this way. There has been considerable demand for the creation of the office of public defender for accused persons. The State employs public prosecutors, and it is argued that it should be as much interested in proving a man’s innocence as in proving his guilt. ”

“ The Attorney General shall take all appropriate steps to establish prosecution guidelines and allocate appropriate resources to ensure that Federal prosecutors accord a high priority to prosecutions of offenses having a nexus to the southern border. ”

“ Why should it be assumed that a juror merely because of employment by the government, would be biased against the accused? In criminal prosecutions the government is acting simply as the instrument of the public in enforcing penal laws for the protection of society. In that enforcement all citizens are interested. It is difficult to see why a governmental employee, merely by virtue of his employment, is interested in that enforcement either more or less than any good citizen is or should be. ”

“ It is the duty of a prosecutor to see that infractions of the criminal law are punished and to represent the public in all proceedings had for that purpose, but, in view of what has just been said, it will be observed that his duties do not necessarily involve familiarity with vice, violence or even sin. ”

“ Considering therefore, how easily frivolous and unjust Prosecutions are set on foot, and Evidences fit for any Turn may be procur'd, nothing can be a greater Security than this noble Law ; for after all the Arts and Management betwixt a bad Governor, Judge, and Attorney-General, to carry on an illegal Prosecution, the whole Contrivance is at last spoiled by the Impossibility of Packing a Jury for the Purpose. ”

“ Mackell, 401 U.S. 66, 91 S.Ct. 764, 27 L.Ed.2d 688, show, the normal course of state criminal prosecutions cannot be disrupted or blocked on the basis of charges which in the last analysis amount to nothing more than speculation about the future. The policy of a century and a half against interference by the federal courts with state law enforcement is not to be set aside on such flimsy allegations as those relied upon here. ”

“ At the present time the official prosecutor himself is the only person to whom one charged with a criminal offence can turn with any hope of relief from his own lawyer, and if the number of cases were known where the prosecutor has befriended the prosecuted the eyes of jurors and of the public would be opened to the real spirit which animates a fair-minded district attorney. ”

“ Public prosecutions against the authority of the United States are in the circuit courts within the exclusive direction of the district attorneys, but they have nothing to do with prosecutions against the statutes, peace, and dignity of a State. ”

“ But the public prosecutor is not, as I understand it, hired to convict but to represent the 'people,' one of whom is the accused. Now, is the State interested in convictions only—does it employ a man to see that its citizens are found guilty of crime, or is it to see that justice is done and the facts arrived at in the interest of all the people, including the accused? ”

“ In the future, the lawful duty of the Secret State Police to prosecute all punishable offenses must be respected, and all cases of doubt with regard to such prosecution have to be reported directly to the appropriate Chief Public Prosecutor through the appropriate Gauleiter, or to the Reich Minister of Justice through the chief of the Party Chancellery, the aim being to [363] accomplish an administration of criminal prosecution which will comply with the interests of the Party. ”

“ It became a matter of serious concernment to have it clearly and well decided by the highest legal authorities, what are the extent and limits of the Lord Advocate’s powers as Public Prosecutor, to enter into compacts with associates in crime, whereby he may afford them an immunity from punishment for participation in crimes, on condition of their affording such evidence as may be requisite for the discovery and punishment of offences, in cases, which from their very nature, can neither be traced out nor established to conviction of the delinquents, without such information and evidence ”

“ Justice would be more speedy and just as effective if the prosecution of all crimes were instituted before an examining magistrate, and the grand jury would then, at the summons of the court, meet to perform only those important and peculiar functions of investigation that are consonant with its dignity and necessary to the public weal. ”

“ Nothing better can come out of this meeting of law enforcement officers than a rededication to the spirit of fair play and decency that should animate the federal prosecutor. Your positions are of such independence and importance that while you are being diligent, strict, and vigorous in law enforcement you can also afford to be just. Although the government technically loses its case, it has really won if justice has been done. The lawyer in public office is justified in seeking to leave behind him a good record. ”

“ In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed; to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence. Excessive bail may not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Private property may not be taken for public use without just compensation. ”

“ Crimes of whatever sort, except police offences, are as a rule subjected to preliminary examination before actual trial. When, however, the charge is perfectly clear of doubt, the procurators ask for an immediate trial in the case of minor crimes. The conducting of criminal cases, from the very beginning down to the execution of the criminal, if he be condemned to suffer death, rests with the procurator, who unites in his own person the functions of public prosecutor and of grand jury. ”

“ If we are to adhere to the mandate of the Constitution and not give it merely that meaning which appeals to the personal tastes of those who from time to time sit here, we should read its terms in light of the realities of what 'criminal prosecutions' truly mean. ”

“ To strengthen legal oversight by prosecuting bodies, the state is also building a mechanism for the impartial and efficient exercise of prosecuting powers and a mechanism for the fair determination of judicial liabilities and ensuing punishments. ”

“ And we have frequently set aside state criminal convictions as a denial of due process of law because of coercive questioning of suspects by public prosecutors and other law enforcement officers in their official chambers. ”

“ If he err by discharging the prisoner, he knows that it may let a guilty man go free, untried. If he err by committing him for trial, he knows that, if innocent, the jury are quite sure to acquit him. He acts also in public. The whole community knows or may know the proofs before him, and will hold him to account accordingly. On the other hand, in the grand jury room all is secret. The prosecuting attorney, if admitted, does not remain while the jurors are deliberating over their decision. No one outside knows who may vote for and who against the return of an indictment. ”

“ Just as there should be no permitting of local considerations to stop federal enforcement, so there should be no striving to enlarge our power over local affairs and no use of federal prosecutions to exert an indirect influence that would be unlawful if exerted directly.
The qualities of a good prosecutor are as elusive and as impossible to define as those which mark a gentleman. ”

“ The moment a capital crime occurs, the criminal employs the ablest counsel he can get. The relatives of the dead man, if they are important persons, retain the best lawyer they can find to assist the public prosecutor, and the game begins.
The first move is to bring the prisoner before an examining magistrate, in order to have him committed to jail to await the action of the grand jury. This examining magistrate is almost always an official that the public prosecutor can control. One was recently asked to separate the witnesses before him. ”

“ It is further said with truth that the Legislature of a state may and often ought to stimulate prosecutions for crime by offering to those who shall initiate and carry on such prosecutions rewards for thus acting in the interest of the state and the people. ”

“ The court would, therefore, hesitate to take any summary action against the offender which might remove the inducements the injured party would otherwise have for proceeding criminally against him, and thus interfere with the course of justice. In this country, the prosecution of criminal offences is generally committed to the charge of a public officer, and sufficient emolument is attached to the duty of prosecution to secure its faithful performance. The same reason, therefore, does not exist here, as in England, for leaving it to the injured party to prosecute for the criminal offence. ”

“ The Speedy Trial Clause protects societal interests, as well as those of the accused. The public is concerned with the effective prosecution of criminal cases, both to restrain those guilty of crime and to deter those contemplating it. Just as delay may impair the ability of the accused to defend himself, so it may reduce the capacity of the government to prove its case. ”

“ Such offenders everywhere are competent witnesses if they see fit voluntarily to appear and testify; but the course of proceeding in the courts of many of the States is quite different from that just described, the rule being that the court will not advise the Attorney-General how he shall conduct a criminal prosecution. Consequently it is regarded as the province of the public prosecutor and not of the court to determine whether or not an accomplice, who is willing to criminate himself and his associates in guilt, shall be called and examined for the State. ”

“ Public prosecutor’s office is an independent State body which prosecutes the perpetrators of criminal offences and other criminal acts which are punishable under the law, and applies legal remedies in order to protect constitutionality and legality. ”

“ Be it further resolved, that we call upon the Supervisors to provide adequate funds for the District Attorney’s office to secure the detection, prosecution and conviction of criminals, high or low, and the full protection of officers in the discharge of their duties;
“Be it further resolved, that we demand the truth from our public press, and shall see to it that our people are informed of the facts that they may judge of those who by lying and misrepresentation are perverting public opinion. ”

“ Whether a prosecution for being 'found intoxicated,' subjecting the defendant to as much as 30 days imprisonment, is within the category of serious state criminal prosecutions to which the federal constitutional guarantee of assistance of counsel applies, under the decisions of this Court. ”

“ Every principle of humanity, of justice, and of policy, is opposed to such a proceeding. There is no precedent—there is no authority for such a proceeding. The informant acted in the belief that he had secured his protection. The Public Prosecutor acted in the belief that he was entitled to secure, and had secured to him, that protection, and had done so for the ultimate benefit of the public, in securing the conviction and punishment of an offender. ”

“ Courts neither have, nor need, sleuths to dig up evidence, staffs to analyze reports, or personnel to prepare prosecutions for contempts. Indeed, while some situations force the judge to pass on contempt issues which he himself raises, it is to be regretted whenever a court in any sense must become prosecutor. Those occasions should not be needlessly multiplied by denying investigative and prosecutive powers to other lawful agencies. ”

“ A defendant should be left to get any lawyer or any expert he wishes. No one can be sure that the state expert will be better than the others. All one can say is that state experts may not be partisans, but, in effect, this would mean that they would not be partisans for the defendant. The constant association with the prosecutor, the officers of the jail, the public officials, and those charged with enforcing the law, would almost surely place them on the side of the state. Such men must be elected or appointed by some tribunal. ”