Is “filing charges” really a thing?

35 comments

1. it depends on the crime

2. It’s the same in the US.

   The district attorney would be the one filing criminal charges against Smith.

   Rock was basically saying he wouldn’t support any charges filed.

   Given the publicity of the event it’s unlikely that the prosecutor would need Rock to participate in an assault charge though.

3. Typically if the victim is ABLE to make that decision, then they are the ones to make it. And it’s because getting the law involved would be a pretty big inconvenience for him, too. The US Constitution says that people have a right to confront their accuser. Basically you can’t just say “They did this. Go deal with it, and I’m gonna just duck out.” You have to be involved.

4. Civil lawsuits – yes

   Criminal lawsuits – no, Rock was basically just saying he won’t be a witness unless subpoenaed

5. Its up to the prosecutor, but there is little point in going forward with charges when the alleged victim is not interested in pursuing it.

   To some extent, you need a victim in order to have a crime.

   In some states and in some cases, especially around domestic violence, the charges are automatic. Even then, good luck getting a conviction when the victim won’t give evidence.

   This is setting aside the whole thing being completely staged for publicity.

6. While the DA/government may formally file charges, how likely are you going to be able to prosecute if you have a victim who won’t cooperate?

7. In some instances, the police will give you the option whether you want to file to press charges. There’s no point in police doing the paperwork if the witness is uncooperative in some situations. It’s the prosecutor that has option to pursue the case or not.

8. Yes. I filed charges all the time. But then again, I was a prosecutor.

9. Well, in a lot of normal cases the police wouldn’t know about it unless you go “file charges”. And usually if the assault was against you and you don’t want to participate, nothing will come of it, they’ll just drop it. But ultimately it’s up to the prosecutor’s office.

10. Technically speaking the true victim in criminal cases is the State/Citizens as a whole. Hence why criminal cases are titled “The People of the State of California vs [OJ] Simpson” and not “Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman vs [OJ] Simpson.”

    The district attorney (equivalent to the crown prosecutor or state prosecutor) or their assistant can bring charges, but as mentioned, good luck without a cooperating victim. To be honest, when Chris Rock ‘declined to press charges’ I’m pretty sure both the DA and police breathed a huge sigh of relief.

11. It depends on the nature of the crime, and which jurisdiction.

12. It works the same way in the US, but for minor crimes the police generally aren’t going to bother without the support of the victim.

13. Yes – but only to a point. If you get savagely beaten in front of witnesses the state may prosecute the offender regardless of what your position on it is. When you ‘file charges’, what you are doing is reporting a criminal complaint to the police who will investigate it and report their findings to the DA. That second part, investigating and reporting to the DA can happen without the victim’s participation or approval. If you think about it, this is every murder case. The victim cannot complain to the police, on account of them being dead, so the police investigate it because if they find a body with a bunch of knife holes they figure there is a strong chance a crime occurred.

    There have been cases where people have reported a crime, it was investigated, the police found a bunch of evidence that the person committed a crime, the initial reporter says “I don’t want to prosecute”, and the prosecutor says “too bad”. It is *the state* vs defendant. The violation of the law offends *the state*.

14. People are just being sloppy with the words.

    A victim of a crime can file a complaint. This is what he meant to say.

    As others have said only a prosecutor can file charges, which they may or may not do as a result of a complaint.

15. Rock actually declined to file a police report. It is, in fact, the prosecutor who files charges.

    In a case like this, it would be easy to file charges, but pretty hard to get a conviction.

    A conviction requires proof “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Smith can’t be forced to testify, and Rock, by not filing a report, is telling them that he also won’t testify. Given those facts, the prosecutor would be left with video of two *actors* in a confrontation *during a show*, and he’s have to prove that they weren’t *acting* at the time. That’s not going to be easy, and prosecutors really don’t like to file cases they can’t win.

16. Others have explained the reality of the situation, but I just want to add that this way of speaking about it, talking about “pressing charges” is pretty normal here (and often misunderstood).

17. not in the way most people say it.

    The State files/presses charges in criminal cases. However, it can be fairly difficult in many cases to successfully prosecute if the victim doesn’t want to cooperate. So when people talk about victims ‘not pressing charges’, it’s basically saying that the victim said they weren’t interested in participating in the legal case, and so there’s not much point in the state expending energy on it.

    Some states do have mandatory charging rules though. Domestic Violence is a pretty common one, where it doesn’t matter what the victim wants, if the police suspect something, they have to open a case.

18. The DA would make the decision, yes. “Declining to press charges” basically just means declining to cooperate with authorities, which usually kills the case.

19. In this case it was for show, the prosecutor doesn’t need Rocks consent to press criminal charges against Smith with this clear cut assault. And frankly I’ll be fascinated if Smith isn’t charged, talk about classism and privilege, if I walked up on stage and smacked Rock you can bet your ass I’d be in jail.

20. A quick glance and I didn’t see anyone mention that it’s usually up to the police not the DA if it’s something like this which isn’t a serious misdemeanor or felony. I have seen a similar situation lol.

    But there are times where if the DA really wants to they can override the arresting officer. Seen this done for a domestic assault charge. This is in Texas but it’s probably the same or very similar there.

    Just depends on the circumstances but cops will sometimes ask if charges are necessary or whatever. Seen a road rage gun pulling incident where the officer asked the victim and they said they weren’t interested in arresting the guy. If the victim is the witness and they don’t want to go forward there’s not much they can do without evidence also.

21. (NAL) The DA probably could but it would look overzealous. The most they could prosecute for is a misdemeanor and that’s, what, a fine?

22. Yes. I was once attacked by a coworker. (Nothing too bad.) Someone called the cops. I opted not to press charges, since nothing useful would come of it.

23. Typically if the offended party refuses to be a cooperative witness, a DA won’t bring charges. It happens all the time in domestic battery cases. Even with other evidence at play, when the victim is unwilling it’s a losing scenario and prosecutors hate to lose

24. Ultimately, it’s up to the authorities… but if the victim doesn’t want to press charges on something minor, then the authorities are unlikely to tie up the courts prosecuting it.

25. This is very state, and sometimes locality, specific.

26. A crime was committed against me (theft) and I was asked what I wanted to happen. Charges would not have been pressed if I had not wanted it.

    AFAIK it is very common for prosecutors to ask the victim if they want charges pressed.

27. Correct me if i am wrong, but i think both the victim and authorities can press charges separately? If rock chooses not to press charges, authorities still can on their own behalf? I might be confused.

28. Yes and no. Rock could file assault charges and ho to court or not, but also the DA can file charges for you without your consent. I doubt any DA would even bat an eye at this case.

29. So even though Rock “declines to press charges” can he change his mind in a few days and decide to press charges? If so, how long would he have to change his mind?

30. Chris is basically saying he’s going to let it go and doesn’t want to escalate it any further.
    Someone wanting to file charges/press charges is wanting to escalate the situation further. Depending on the situation, either it can be done with or without consent of the person that it happened to.

31. No. It’s the same way here. But it’s often true that DAs will decline to prosecute when a victim is uncooperative, particularly where there’s no other witnesses.

32. The state actually could press charges against Will if they want. They don’t need Chris Rock to do that. But police don’t generally interfere with “black guy on black guy” crime.

33. Chris Rock said he will not “press charges.” In other words, he will not file a police report to start an official police investigation. But that doesn’t preclude the police from starting an investigation based on other evidence or witness complaints. Once an investigation is concluded, an arrest and booking is made based on the evidence and reports are given to the District Attorney to actually file the charge to the court and refer it to trial.

    In other words, Will Smith is still not off the hook. The Academy could have the police open the investigation.

34. Not really. It’s the prosecutor who makes the decision.

    But in a case like this, it’s often only done if the victim wants it to happen. (In some cases, a prosecutor is required by law to bring charges regardless, typically in cases of domestic violence.)

35. What they mean is that Chris Rock declined to file a police report.

    The cops don’t need a police report to arrest someone nor doe the local court system need one to prosecute a crime.

    Will smith is a scientologist, a very powerful, wealthy, and litigious cult. Everyone in Hollywood is afraid of them. Most legal proceedings against them don’t go any where.