# Justice Manual § 9-27.001: Preface > Federal · Agency guidance · In force URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.001 ## Section - **Citation:** Justice Manual § 9-27.001 - **Heading:** Preface - **Jurisdiction:** Federal - **Kind:** Agency guidance - **Status:** In force - **Text as of:** August 14, 2026 - **Source:** Compiled text - **Location:** DOJ Justice Manual / Title 9: Criminal / 9-27.000 - Principles of Federal Prosecution / Justice Manual § 9-27.001 ## Text These principles of federal prosecution provide federal prosecutors a statement of prosecutorial policies and practices. As such, they should promote the reasoned exercise of prosecutorial authority and contribute to the fair, evenhanded administration of the federal criminal laws. A determination to prosecute represents a policy judgment that the fundamental interests of society require the application of federal criminal law to a particular set of circumstances—recognizing both that serious violations of federal law must be prosecuted, and that prosecution entails profound consequences for the accused, crime victims, and their families whether or not a conviction ultimately results. Other prosecutorial decisions can be equally significant. Decisions, for example, regarding the specific charges to be brought, or concerning plea dispositions, effectively determine the range of sanctions or other measures that may be imposed for criminal conduct. The rare decision to consent to pleas of nolo contendere may affect the success of related civil suits for recovery of damages. And the government's position during the sentencing process will help ensure that the court imposes a sentence consistent with 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). These principles of federal prosecution have been designed to assist in structuring the decision-making process of attorneys for the government. For the most part, they have been cast in general terms with a view to providing guidance rather than to mandating results. The intent is to assure regularity without regimentation, and to prevent unwarranted disparity without sacrificing necessary flexibility. principles of federal prosecution have been designed to assist in structuring the decision-making process of attorneys for the government. For the most part, they have been cast in general terms with a view to providing guidance rather than to mandating results. The intent is to assure regularity without regimentation, and to prevent unwarranted disparity without sacrificing necessary flexibility. The availability of this statement of principles to federal law enforcement officials and to the public serves two important purposes: ensuring the fair and effective exercise of prosecutorial discretion and responsibility by attorneys for the government, and promoting confidence on the part of the public and individual defendants that important prosecutorial decisions will be made rationally and objectively based on an individualized assessment of the facts and circumstances of each case. The principles provide convenient reference points for the process of making prosecutorial decisions; they facilitate the task of training new attorneys in the proper discharge of their duties; they contribute to more effective management of the government's limited prosecutorial resources by promoting greater consistency among the prosecutorial activities of all United States Attorney's offices and between their activities and the Department's law enforcement priorities; they make possible better coordination of investigative and prosecutorial activity by enhancing the understanding of investigating departments and agencies of the considerations underlying prosecutorial decisions by the Department; and they inform the public of the careful process by which prosecutorial decisions are made. d between their activities and the Department's law enforcement priorities; they make possible better coordination of investigative and prosecutorial activity by enhancing the understanding of investigating departments and agencies of the considerations underlying prosecutorial decisions by the Department; and they inform the public of the careful process by which prosecutorial decisions are made. Important though these principles are to the proper operation of our federal prosecutorial system, the success of that system must rely ultimately on the character, integrity, sensitivity, and competence of those men and women who are selected to represent the public interest in the federal criminal justice process. It is with their help that these principles have been prepared, and it is with their efforts that the purposes of these principles will be achieved. [updated June 2023] ## Nearby sections - [Justice Manual § 9-27.001 Preface](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.001.md) - [Justice Manual § 9-27.110 Purpose](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.110.md) - [Justice Manual § 9-27.120 Application](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.120.md) - [Justice Manual § 9-27.130 Implementation](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.130.md) - [Justice Manual § 9-27.140 Modifications or Departures](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.140.md) - [Justice Manual § 9-27.150 Non-Litigability](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.150.md) - [Justice Manual § 9-27.200 Initiating and Declining Prosecution—Probable Cause Requirement](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.200.md) - [Justice Manual § 9-27.220 Grounds for Commencing or Declining Prosecution](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.220.md) - [Justice Manual § 9-27.230 Initiating and Declining Charges—Substantial Federal Interest](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.230.md) - [Justice Manual § 9-27.240 Initiating and Declining Charges—Prosecution in Another Jurisdiction](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.240.md) - [Justice Manual § 9-27.250 Non-Criminal Alternatives to Prosecution](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.250.md) - [Justice Manual § 9-27.260 Initiating and Declining Charges—Impermissible Considerations](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.260.md) - [Justice Manual § 9-27.270 Records of Prosecutions Declined](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.270.md) - [Justice Manual § 9-27.300 Selecting Charges—Conducting an Individualized Assessment](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.300.md) --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-27.001. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.