Frequently situations arise during the day-today operations of our office when it becomes clear that most people do not know what we do and how it happens REALLY.
Last week we received an inquiry from a staff person who manages constituent services for one of our state legislators. The inquiry concerned a wrong way head on accident with an intoxicated driver in the year 2024. The staff person for the state representative was inquiring on behalf of the victim why we had never prosecuted the case since the accident took place in our district. A copy of the police report which contained the name of the driver and the victim was sent to our office. (Fortunately, there were no fatalities because of the accident).
We looked up the case in the case management system which covers the entire state. We found nobody with the name and birth date of the driver, nor the victim. Then looking closer at the police report, my staff person managing the request noticed that the accident took place under the jurisdiction of Sandia Pueblo. At this point we asked if the driver may be Native in which case the case would be the responsibility of the United States Attorney. The driver was not Native.
Now we have a mystery. Knowing the law enforcement agency who responded to the accident and the officer who wrote the police report, we had to direct the legislative representative to inquire directly with that agency. We do not know the circumstances surrounding why it took two years to follow up. We do know that the case was not sent to us for review by law enforcement.
When a crime is reported to law enforcement, law enforcement investigates the crime and gathers evidence, interviews witnesses, and establishes probable cause. The District Attorney’s Office does not investigate crimes. Once this process is complete, law enforcement submits the investigation report and evidence to the District Attorney at which point we review the case to determine if, based on the evidence, the charges can be successfully proven in court by our office.
We rely on our partner law enforcement agencies to conduct the investigation of a crime. This involves securing the scene, gathering evidence, physical evidence, and taking photographs. Law enforcement conducts witness and suspect interviews, if an officer witnesses the crime or develops probable cause during the investigation then they can make an arrest. Once law enforcement has completed the investigation then all gathered evidence, statements and reports are compiled into a case file and forwarded to the District Attorney.
From this point, a prosecutor in the District Attorney’s office reviews the police report and all the evidence to determine if sufficient probable cause and evidence exist to secure a conviction by proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury or judge. After reviewing the case the prosecutor has three options.
• Filechargesbyissuing a charging document detailing the specific charges (the District Attorney has the sole authority to formally file criminal charges).
• Rejectordecline the case if the prosecutor determines there is insufficient evidence to proceed.
• Send the case back to law enforcement to fill in evidentiary gaps.
These decisions are never made lightly by prosecutors in my office. Declining a case, sometimes understandably, results in unhappy law enforcement and unhappy community members and victims. Depending on the circumstances, sending a case back for more investigation is not always warmly received by law enforcement. The bestcase scenario is a collaborative relationship in which our prosecutors work glove in hand with law enforcement to review evidence, determine charges and ensure that the investigation is conducted lawfully. It is a huge responsibility deciding whether to charge someone with a crime, which charges to pursue and determining how to resolve each case in a way that serves justice.
Of course, charging a crime and pursuing the case in court does not come with a guarantee. Our best days are when a jury or judge rules in our favor. Our worst days are when we must sit across from a victim or the family of a victim when the case has not gone in our favor.
Though, if a case has never been forwarded to the District Attorney’s office by law enforcement, we cannot do a thing. While winning cases is the desired outcome, our real job is to seek justice according to the established laws of the government, pursue the truth and protect the rights of all involved. I am confident in saying that my staff works extremely hard every day to embody these tenets and goals.