united-states criminal-law prosecution
Is anyone currently in jail/prison as the result of a private prosecution in the USA?
<p>Private prosecutions are  extremely rare but not completely disappeared in the US, and persist in a few states.  I want to get a sense of just how rare they are.</p>
<p>Is there anyone currently in jail/prison as a result of a private prosecution in one of the states which allow them? If not, when was the last time this occurred.</p>

<p>New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prosecution#United_States" rel="nofollow noreferrer">still allow private prosecutions</a> that can result in incarceration. See also a state by state summary <a href="https://law.lclark.edu/live/files/26911-50-states-victim-initiated-investigation" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>.</p>
<p>A bar on conflicts of interest (e.g. having the same lawyer pursue a private prosecution and a civil case against the same defendant) <a href="https://katzjustice.com/private-prosecutors-are-limited-by-virginia-law-says-fairfax-criminal-lawyer/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">greatly limit the practice in Virginia</a> (see also <a href="http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opncavtx/2158963.txt" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>). <a href="https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1444&amp;context=wlucdj" rel="nofollow noreferrer">There is an argument</a> that this limitation has federal constitutional force. But see, <em>Cantrell v. Commonwealth</em>, 229 Va. 387 (1985) (analysed <a href="https://crimlaw.blogspot.com/2014/02/private-prosecutors.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Is there anyone currently in jail/prison as a result of a private
prosecution in one of the states which allow them? If not, when was
the last time this occurred.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They are very rare, and often limited to misdemeanors. I suspect that there is currently someone in incarcerated on the basis of one, but it isn't easy to determine as there are no one who maintains statistics regarding this. Convictions in private prosecutions have resulted in appellate decisions as recently as 2020 in Virginia.</p>
<p>A private prosecution resulting in a conviction with a one-year suspended sentence and one year of probation was <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ri-supreme-court/1137719.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">affirmed on appeal in 2001 in Rhode Island</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/56705952.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">In many Rhode Island cases</a>, this involves prosecutions by police officers (see also <a href="https://theappeal.org/rhode-island-police-prosecutors/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> noting that this is also common in &quot;New Hampshire, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Virginia, where police officers can act as prosecutors throughout the entire misdemeanor process—from a defendant’s first appearance through a plea or trial&quot;).</p>
<p>A (pay per view) <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23058573" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2011 law review article</a> reviews the practice of victim prosecutions in New Hampshire (where incarceration may not be sought), New Jersey, and Rhode Island.</p>
