Is a rejection by the Prosecutor a final decision?
The defendant has the right to appeal the denial of Pretrial Intervention. The burden is on the defendant to show a “patent and gross abuse of discretion” by the Prosecutor. The judge may either deny the appeal, in which case the defendant is not admitted into Pretrial Intervention, or the judge may grant the appeal and order the defendant’s entry into the program. The judge has a third option of returning the Pretrial Intervention package to the Prosecutor for reconsideration. If the State does not agree with the judge’s decision, the State has the option of appealing the matter to the Appellate Division.
