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Nolle prosequi, abbreviated nol or nolle pros, is legal Latin meaning "to be unwilling to pursue". It is a type of prosecutorial discretion in common law, used for prosecutors' declarations that they are voluntarily ending a criminal case before trial or before a verdict is rendered; it is a kind of motion to dismiss and contrasts with an involuntary dismissal. Application in United States law Nolle prosequi as a declaration is most often used in criminal cases, but in jurisdictions making use of nolle prosequi in civil lawsuits, it is used by a plaintiff that voluntarily drops its claims. In civil cases, a retraxit or a motion for voluntary dismissal may be made by a plaintiff instead of a declaration of nolle prosequi, depending upon the custom and rules of a given jurisdiction. Decision-maker Nolle prosequi as a declaration can be made by a prosecutor in a criminal case either before or during trial, resulting in the prosecutor declining to further pursue the case against the defendant. Courts seldom challenge applications for nolle prosequi. In the United States, judges will usually sign a dismissal order prepared by the prosecution or make a docket entry indicating the disposition of the case to be nolle prosse after a declaration or motion by the prosecution. In criminal cases in the United States, it has been held improper for a court to enter an order of nolle prosequi on its own, without a motion by the prosecutor, but as to sentencing discrepancies involved in a sentence recommendation, a trial judge is authorized to reject an underlying guilty plea based upon concerns of fairness and justice or because it is presented after the plea cutoff date. The notes to Rule 48 of the US Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (FRCRP) draw attention to the effect of the rule as contrasting with common law. Rule 48 now mandates that prosecutors seek leave of the court before they dismiss a case via filing a nolle prosequi. Reason The declaration may be made because the charges cannot be proved because vital witnesses have become unavailable or uncooperative, the evidence is too weak to carry the burden of proof, the evidence is fatally flawed in light of the claims that are brought, the prosecutor becomes doubtful that the defendant is guilty, the defendant's innocence is proven, or the defendant has died. It has also been used when a federal criminal charge is brought up against a defendant when the prosecutor on a state charge for the same offense no longer wishes to pursue the case. Usually, that happens when the state prosecutor is content with the sentence on the federal charge and has no need to go any further with the original case. Timing In criminal cases, nolle prosequi declarations are made generally after an indictment as long as adjudication on the merits has not occurred or, in some jurisdictions, as long as a trial has not commenced. In civil cases, nolle prosequi declarations are made either before the trial begins or before a judgment on the merits is rendered, depending on the rules of the jurisdiction. Legal effect The entry of a nolle prosequi is not an acquittal. Since the principle of double jeopardy therefore does not apply, the defendant may later be indicted on the same charge again. Application in civil cases In civil cases, a nolle prosequi or voluntary dismissal may be entered as to one of several counts or claims, or as to one of several defendants, or both. In any jurisdiction, whether a motion for voluntary dismissal or a declaration of nolle prosequi is used, federal and state rules of civil procedure generally govern when, how, and why claims may be voluntarily dismissed and apply different rules to different types of claims and to whether a court may give leave to dismiss a matter with or without prejudice. Similarity to a declination of prosecution Nolle prosequi is similar to a declination of prosecution, which is an agreement not to prosecute made before any charges are brought or suit has been filed. A declination of prosecution may be made by an attorney or may be made as an agreement between the aggrieved party and the claimant. In contrast, nolle prosequi is usually made after a decision to prosecute has already been made. A declination of prosecution may be made for many reasons, such as weak evidence or a conflict of interest. Application and legal effect in English law The power of entering a nolle prosequi is now rarely used, mostly in cases where a defendant is permanently physically or mentally unfit to appear in court, or when an ordinary member of the public has brought private criminal proceedings which the Attorney General considers it is not in the public interest to continue. In practice, where a prosecution is not to be taken forward due to flaws identified in the evidence or the prosecution no longer being in the public interest, the prosecutor will generally offer no evidence and the court will acquit the defendant. In the past, a nolle prosequi was also used to protect a person who was given immunity from prosecution. A nolle prosequi acts as an indefinite adjournment to the case, not an acquittal. While terminating the proceedings, it does not bar the defendant from being indicted again, but there is no known case of this happening in the century before 1957, or since. However, in the Al-Yamamah arms deal, the Director of the Serious Fraud Office was pressured by the Attorney General to terminate an investigation into a claim that BAE Systems had bribed influential persons in Saudi Arabia to secure a profitable defence contract. Although initial pressure from BAE on the grounds of economic damage and the disruption of friendly relations with Saudi Arabia was resisted both by the Director and the Attorney General, further pressure from the Prime Minister, under pressure from the Saudi government which threatened to end co-operation against terrorism, resulted in the Director agreeing to halt the investigation. The Director's decision was challenged by several public interest organisations, and their challenge succeeded in the Divisional Court but failed in the House of Lords on the basis that the Director would have known that the Attorney General could stop any prosecution agreed to by the Director by entering a nolle prosequi, and so his decision not to prosecute was reasonable and lawful. Decision-maker and timing Only the attorney general can enter a nolle prosequi, acting in the public interest. The attorney general is not answerable to the courts but to Parliament for how this power is exercised. It can be entered at any stage after an indictment has been signed and before a Crown Court judgment is made. A nolle prosequi will usually be requested from the attorney general by the defence but an application can also be made by the prosecution. Nolle prosequi in other jurisdictions Canada The equivalent power in Canada is a Crown-directed stay of charges. This causes the prosecution to be suspended for.... Discover the Cormac Cahill popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Cormac Cahill books.