Melissa Hinton

CJUS 2050
6.3 Critical Thinking Exercise
Discuss examples of prosecutorial discretion. Do prosecuting attorneys have too much power?
A. Prosecutorial discretionauthority of an agency or officer to:
a. Choose whether or not to bring criminal charges
i. Ex: A prosecutor brings lesser charges against a defendant to expedite plea
bargaining
ii. Ex 2: During the civil rights, white prosecutors in the South refused to bring
whites up on charges for crimes against African Americans, even though
evidence was present
b. Decide the nature of charges
i. Criminal or civil
c. Recommend plea bargaining or sentence
i. A guilty person where the prosecution doesnt have a wealth of evidence, but
still have enough evidence to convict, may lead a defendant to take a plea
agreement. Otherwise, prosecutors may seek maximum sentences in any cases.
d. Applies in civil, administrative, and criminal situations