Why does the DA dismiss charges?
There are many reasons why the DA may decide or be compelled to dismiss a charge. Some of those reasons are listed below: -victim or witness cannot be located at time of trial -victim or witness recants or identifies a different person than the person charged as the perpetrator -pursuant to an agreement to plead guilty to other charges, sometimes in another case -failure of law enforcement to comply with the law during the course of the investigation or the time leading up to trial (violations of the United States or North Carolina constitutions or federal or state statutes) -a change in the law (for example, the United States Supreme Court makes a ruling on a case that affects many pending criminal cases; their ruling may be that the procedure followed by law enforcement, while thought lawful at the time of arrest or investigation, is unconstitutional; such a ruling would require the DA to dismiss any cases that hinged on this now unconstitutional conduct) -evidence lost or mistakenly
Related Questions
- I want to dismiss a criminal complaint or no longer want to continue with a criminal prosecution. Is the prosecuting attorney required to dismiss the criminal charges?
- Can the victim of a crime dismiss charges once they have been filed against a defendant?
- Is there a way to drop assault charges from the DA?
