Opinion ID: 1160924
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Establishing a Prosecutorial Vindictiveness Claim

Text: {10} In light of Stevens, we hold that to establish a claim of vindictive prosecution, the defendant must show either: (1) actual vindictiveness or (2) a reasonable likelihood of vindictiveness, which then raises a presumption of vindictiveness. Contreras, 108 F.3d at 1262 (emphasis added). Once the defendant successfully establishes either, the burden shifts to the prosecution to justify its decision with `legitimate, articulable, objective reasons.' Id. at 1262-63 (quoted authority omitted). If the defendant is unable to prove actual vindictiveness or a realistic likelihood of vindictiveness, a trial court need not reach the issue of government justification. Id. at 1263. Our focus in analyzing a claim of prosecutorial vindictiveness is on whether the prosecutor has done an act `that would not have occurred but for hostility or punitive animus toward the defendant because he exercised [a] specific legal right. ' Id. at 1262 (quoted authorities omitted).