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I can't agree. There is legal duty provided by the 14th amendment. If a state only pursues prosecution of cases which are affordable, or which are easy (in terms of time and/or staff) then they are effectively neglecting their obligations under federal law. In addition it can be argued that in many cases failure to prosecute can be considered a violation of state law under state constitutions.
– SkyLeach
Commented Jan 17, 2016 at 12:57
Dale: AFAIK this isn't entirely accurate. Courts can not only order prosecutors to consider a case, but they can also find an "abuse of prosecutorial discretion" and then decide themselves whether the state has to prosecute a case, enforce a law, etc.
– feetwet ♦
Commented Jan 17, 2016 at 13:31
2

@feetwet could you cite some case law on this subject? Plus prosecutors cannot ethically pursue a case that they don't believe beyond a reasonable doubt...
– Viktor
Commented Jan 17, 2016 at 19:36
@Viktor - Your question and observation really merit more research ... which I haven't had time to perform. "Abuse of discretion" usually takes other forms. But I suspect that, if nothing else, there must be examples of courts ruling that a prosecutor has abused his discretion for failing to enforce desegregation laws in the U.S. civil rights era. I wonder what the remedies are. Perhaps this merits its own question.
– feetwet ♦
Commented Feb 13, 2016 at 18:13
1

@Viktor - The most recent reference I could find is from a 1988 Yale Law Journal article, "Private Challenges to Prosecutorial Inaction." It notes that (at the time) at least 9 states had statutory schemes that potentially enable private persons to challenge prosecutorial inaction. But apparently there was no case law indicating what redress should be expected.
– feetwet ♦
Commented Feb 15, 2016 at 20:48

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