[2] In addition, in some countries prosecutors operate independently with more discretion vs in a hierarchical system that require more conformity.
Wayte v. United States 470 U.S. 598 (1985)[9] said:In our criminal justice system, the Government retains "broad discretion" as to whom to prosecute.
Such factors as the strength of the case, the prosecution's general deterrence value, the Government's enforcement priorities, and the case's relationship to the Government's overall enforcement plan are not readily susceptible to the kind of analysis the courts are competent to undertake.Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886)[10] was the first case where the United States Supreme Court ruled that a law that is race-neutral on its face, but is administered in a prejudicial manner, is an infringement of the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Scholarly study of prosecutorial discretion in the US has reported a wide variance among prosecutors' responses to the same potential scenario.
The scholars who conducted the study reported observing prosecutors who appeared to be motivated to do justice but who lacked guidelines and supervision.
[11] The principle of opportunity to prosecute (opportunité des poursuites) belongs to the Public Prosecutors' Office [fr].
[13] However, this does not prevent the initial suspect—and the victim who filed the complaint—from being registered in the System for Processing Recorded Offenses [fr] (STIC).