235 Pa. Super. 490 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1975
Opinion by
Petitioner appeals to this Court seeking to reinstate his private criminal complaints which, after having been approved at first by an assistant district attorney, were finally disapproved by the district attorney of Northampton County. We hold that a district attorney, having the power to approve or disapprove a private criminal complaint in the first instance, is empowered to withdraw his initial approval when such action is indicated by the circumstances, and we therefore will affirm the order below.
On August 31, 1974, appellant executed a number of private criminal complaints charging several named individuals and a John Doe with various offenses including burglary, criminal trespass, criminal mischief and other related crimes.
On October 2, 1974, the district attorney informed the district magistrate by letter that he was disapproving the first group of complaints which had been executed and
Seeking reinstatement of his complaints, appellant, without counsel, addressed his grievance to the court of common pleas by means of a letter with an attached “affidavit” in which he enumerated allegations of fact and conclusions of law. The thrust of appellant’s argument in this communication was that he, as private prosecutor, had complied with all the requirements under the rules for bringing a criminal complaint, that the district attorney had not conformed to the requirements of the rules when he disapproved the complaints in this instance, that the district attorney’s action on the complaints was therefore defective and the appellant was entitled to reinstatement of the complaints. In response to this, the lower court on October 18, 1974, issued a rule on the district attorney to show cause why the private criminal complaints should not be reinstated. The district attorney responded with an answer alleging that his office had conducted an investigation of the charges set forth in the complaints as a result of which he had determined that the complaints should be disapproved. It was alleged in the district attorney’s answer that the appellant was thought to have committed possible acts of fraud and deception against the defendants named in the complaints, which acts could have justified the defendants’ actions. Attached to the answer was a summary of the results of the investigation. Taking into consideration the district attorney’s reasons for disapproving the complaints, the rule was discharged, effectively precluding the reinstatement of appellant’s complaints.
Appellant then moved the lower court for a hearing on the matter alleging bad faith on the part of the district
At the time the complaints were executed, Pa. R. Crim. P. 133(B), concerning private complaints, read in pertinent part:
“1. When the affiant is not a police officer as defined in Rule 51(C), and the offense charged ... does not involve a clear and present danger to any person or to the community, the complaint shall be submitted to the attorney for the Commonwealth, who shall approve or disapprove without unreasonable delay.
“3. If the attorney for the Commonwealth
(i) approved the complaint, he shall indicate his decision on the complaint form and transmit it to the issuing authority.
(ii) disapproved the complaint, he shall state his reasons on the complaint form and return it to the affiant. Thereafter the affiant may file the complaint with a judge of a Court of Common Pleas for approval or disapproval.”
Pa. R. Crim. P. 134 requires the issuing authority to ascertain that, when a proceeding has been initiated by private complaint, the complaint is properly executed, there is probable cause for the issuance of process, and that the attorney for the Commonwealth has approved the complaint.
On the basis of these rules, appellant now argues that the district attorney has no power to withdraw approval
The power granted the district attorney under Rule 133(B) to approve or disapprove private criminal complaints is consistent with the authority regularly exercised by that office in deciding whether to initiate or to discontinue prosecutions. Commonwealth v. Ragone, 317 Pa. 113, 176 A. 454 (1935); Commonwealth v. Lord, 230 Pa. Superior Ct. 96, 326 A.2d 455 (1974); Pa. R. Crim. P. 314. The attorney for the Commonwealth is acting in accordance with a recognized duty owed to the people of the Commonwealth in withdrawing approval of a complaint when investigation reveals a lack of legal basis for a prosecution. If that office is to be given the obligation not only of overseeing the prosecution of crime but also determining when charges should be brought, logic and efficiency require that the power to grant approval must be accompanied by the power to withdraw approval when additional facts newly brought to light indicate the wisdom of such a course. In addition, Rule 133(B). protects the interest of the private complainant by allowing for the
The bulk of appellant’s remaining arguments question the constitutionality of the rule.
Order affirmed.
Van der Voort, J., concurs in the result.
. Appellant alleges that the crimes were committed when the individuals broke into appellant’s business premises on August 29, 1974.
. This rule was adopted January 31, 1970, effective May 1, 1970, as Rule 105. It was renumbered as Rule 133 and amended September 18, 1973, effective January 1, 1974. Subsequent to the date of the proceedings here at issue, on January 23, 1975, the rule was again amended, effective September 1, 1975.
. Upon reviewing Pa. R. Crina. P. 134, it becomes clear that the district magistrate erred when he endorsed the second group of complaints, executed on September 20, 1974, without first requiring the approval of the attorney for the Commonwealth. Therefore, the subsequent disapproval by the public prosecutor was evidently proper under the rule.
. The A.B.A. Project on Standards for Criminal Justice, Standards Relating to the Prosecution Function and the Defense Function §3.4 (Approved Draft, 1971), recommends that the decision to institute criminal proceedings he initially and primarily the responsibility of the prosecutor, the attorney for the Commonwealth. Where a private complainant can institute a criminal action, it is recommended that the complaint he submitted for prior approval to the prosecutor, which is substantially the procedure outlined in Pa. R. Crim. P. 133(B). “There are sound reasons of general policy which argue for the joint screening of cases by both the prosecutor and the magistrate. The prosecutor brings trial experience, continuity in office, and the perspective of his public responsibility to bear on the decision. Beyond this, the sharing of responsibility in the decision whether to prosecute is an important application of ‘checks and balances’ to the field of prosecution. Where a magistrate has power to issue a warrant on the complaint of a citizen, it is desirable that a public prosecutor either endorse his approval or be afforded a means of recording his reasons for declining prosecution.” A.B.A. Project on Standards for Criminal Justice, Standards Relating to the Prosecution Function and the Defense Function, comment to §3.4(c) (Approved Draft, 1971).
. Appellant also argues that he was entitled to a hearing before the court to support his motion for reinstatement of the complaints. Rule 133(B) (3) (ii) simply allows the complainant to file the disapproved complaint with a judge of a court of common pleas for approval or disapproval. The court is not required by this rule to grant a hearing; the additional procedure merely gives the private prosecutor the opportunity to have his complaint re