Module 3

The charging decision: the evidence test, the public interest, alternatives and reasons

The charging decision is the most consequential thing a prosecutor does. A charge changes a person’s life: it affects liberty, reputation, work and family, even if the case ends in an acquittal. A decision not to charge can leave a victim unprotected, a wrong unanswered and the public unsafe. Because so much depends on it, almost every system has developed a structured way of thinking about it, and the structure is remarkably similar across countries: ask whether the evidence is strong enough, then ask whether prosecution is in the public interest, then choose the right charge or the right alternative. The names, the standards and the factors differ. This module teaches the structure, and the Charging Decision Worksheet in the labs lets you practise it on an invented case.

General education on the work of a prosecutor across legal systems, using invented people, offices and cases. It is not legal or career advice. Criminal procedure, disclosure rules, standards of proof and routes into the profession differ between countries and change: check the rules that apply to you with the prosecution service and the profession.