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Ex parte Quintana

Generally, prosecutors have broad discretion in enforcing criminal laws. But selective prosecution does limit a prosecutor's otherwise broad discretion in determining what crimes to prosecute and how. El Paso Court of Appeals, No. 08-08-00227-CR, 10-08-2009

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OPINION

“On the sea there is a tradition older even than the traditions of the country itself . . . . It is the tradition that with responsibility goes authority and with them both goes accountability.”*fn1

This is an appeal of a denial of a pretrial writ of habeas corpus. Veronica Rachel Quintana is an elected city representative of El Paso, Texas. In November 2007, she was arrested and charged with Class A misdemeanor forgery. The El Paso District Attorney assigned a supervisory prosecutor to handle the prosecution with public instructions that no offer of deferred adjudication or pretrial diversion was authorized. The prosecutor was further instructed that if Appellant were to plead guilty to the charged offense, any disposition other than pretrial diversion or deferred adjudication would be available for negotiation. On May 2, 2008, Appellant filed a pretrial habeas corpus application with the trial court and alleged that refusing to allow her to dispose of her case through pretrial diversion constitutes selective and vindictive prosecution because it violated her Equal Protection right and First Amendment right to be an elected official. The court heard the writ on May 9, 2008 but denied relief. She appeals to this Court.

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