Opinion ID: 2551802
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Conduct of the district attorney

Text: Petitioner contends that the district attorney arbitrarily and capriciously reinitiated the criminal charges against petitioner and asks this court to enjoin the district attorney from further prosecuting petitioner. The district attorney responds by arguing that both his method and motive in reinitiating the case against petitioner were proper. He defends his motive by asserting that he acted in good faith in reinitiating the case because the family court's discharge orders raised legitimate questions in his mind as to petitioner's continuing incompetence. The district attorney defends his method by arguing that the complaint was properly filed because there was adequate probable cause that a crime had been committed by petitioner and that no showing of probable cause of petitioner's competency was required by statute. We conclude that there was nothing arbitrary or capricious in the district attorney's conduct here. We agree that petitioner's impending discharge to outpatient status could serve as a legitimate reason to question whether petitioner was still incompetent. While the family court discharge orders did not address the issue of competency, it was not unreasonable for the district attorney to question whether petitioner's competency was affected. Accordingly, we decline to enjoin the district attorney from further prosecuting petitioner.