In considering the court's power to dismiss a case for pretrial delays it is useful to consider the right of the prosecutor to seek a nolle prosequi. The decision to nol-pros a charge lies within the discretion of the prosecutor, and a trial court may not deny the motion under normal circumstances. The authority to nol-pros extends through all stages of the trial procedure. 136 Ill. App. A court must allow the State's Attorney to enter a nolle prosequi unless it is persuaded that the prosecutor's action is capricious or vexatiously repetitious or that the entry of a nolle prosequi will prejudice the defendant.
Considerations change once the trial has begun.
Even where there has been no acquittal an accused has some right to have his trial concluded before the first jury that is impanelled. 262 Ill. App. A nolle prosequi after jeopardy attaches amounts to an acquittal and a bar to prosecution. However, double jeopardy does not bar reprosecution when a defense-requested mistrial is attributable merely to prosecutorial or judicial error. Neither does appellate reversal for trial error preclude retrial under the double jeopardy clause.