When you are prosecuted for a crime it is the People of the State of New York against the Defendant. It is not the Complainant against the Defendant. It is a common misunderstanding that a complainant can “drop the charges”. It is not up to a complainant as to whether or not they want to drop the charges. Once a criminal prosecution has begun only the District Attorney has the power to “drop the charges.” A complainant may refuse to co-operate with the District Attorney and the case then becomes more difficult for the District Attorney to prosecute, but the complainant can never “drop the charges”.