Exploring the Origins of Public Prosecution

Abstract

Public prosecution is an indispensable feature of the modern day administration of criminal justice. Public prosecution as we know it today, however, is a product of long evolution. Historically, pursuit of crime was a private affair and there was no official involvement in criminal prosecution. This article explores the development of criminal prosecution in England, on the European continent, and in America. The first part of the article traces the evolution of modes of accusation in England and on the European continent. The second part of the article focuses on the development of prosecution in America from the colonial days until the formation of the modern American prosecutorial system. The article highlights the historical events that contributed to the evolution and transition of modes of prosecution and analyzes the impact of different historical, cultural, and political values on the shaping of the present prosecutorial systems in Europe and in America.