turano@silver.DEC (Tom Turano DTN 231- [Office 4735, Lab 6978]) (08/13/84)
* I would be interested in receiving more information concerning the bringing of criminal charges by a private citizen in the state of Massachusetts. It is my belief that criminal prosecution is a function that the state reserves to itself. The theory being that a crime is against the state and not the individual. Most crimes have civil equivalents in the form of torts, and it is possible to begin a civil action where a criminal proceeding has not taken place. For example, Battery is, under most if not all jurisdictions, a crime and it is also a tort, a cause for civil action. As a result, it is possible for a citizen to bring forth a civil action for the Battery even when the state determines that it will not prosecute under the criminal statute. If indeed Massachusetts is a jurisdiction where a citizen can initiate a criminal action, I'd like a reference to a case where this has occurred or a reference to the statute under which it is sanctioned. Tom Turano Laboratory Data Products DIGITAL path: DECVAX!DECWRL!RHEA!GOLD!TURANO