“[The prosecutor] is the chief law enforcement officer of the county from which he is elected, not the police . . . or the courts.”
How later courts described this case
- “[The prosecutor] is the chief law enforcement officer of the county from which he is elected, not the police . . . or the courts.”
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
V. J. Brennan, P.J.
(dissenting). I respectfully disagree with my colleagues. The "broad discretion” of the county prosecutor and the limitations thereon pale to insignificance upon consideration of one salient fact. This defendant was sentenced to 3 to 8 years in prison for stealing a $1 Sears scarf. This writer cannot in good conscience tolerate the abuse of legal process demonstrated by the prosecutor at bar.
*12 The Legislature has set forth crimes and penalties establishing guidelines for law enforcement agencies and the courts. The habitual offender statute was enacted to prevent dangerous felons from continually visiting upon society their abuses. Petty shoplifting, no matter how frequently performed, does not amount to a felony. The penalties for shoplifting as prescribed by the Legislature are a sufficient deterrent. A prosecutor who believes otherwise and charges accordingly abuses the discretion of his office. It is not for the prosecutor to elevate such a crime to a 4-year felony. Such punishment does not fit the crime.
The majority is severing themselves from the abuse allowed below by stating "it is he [the prosecutor] who must accept the responsibility for his decisions at the polls”. I disagree. It is we who review defendant’s appeal and render this decision who must accept responsibility for allowing this. For want of a more effective means of properly disposing of this matter, I must dissent.
I would reverse.